Method and apparatus for a multi-beam downlink and uplink wireless system

ABSTRACT

Methods and apparatuses for a multi-beam downlink and uplink wireless system. A method of a user equipment includes receiving configuration information for one or more transmission configuration indication (TCI) states and corresponding TCI state identifiers (IDs) and receiving one or more TCI state IDs. The method also includes determining, based on the one or more TCI state IDs, at least one of one or more first spatial domain filters for reception of one or more layers, respectively, of a downlink channel and one or more second spatial domain filters for transmission of one or more layers, respectively, of an uplink channel. The method further includes at least one of receiving the one or more layers of the downlink channel using the one or more first spatial domain filters, respectively, and transmitting the one or more layers of the uplink channel using the one or more second spatial domain filters, respectively.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS AND CLAIM OF PRIORITY

The present application claims priority to U.S. Provisional PatentApplication No. 63/000,351, filed on Mar. 26, 2020; U.S. ProvisionalPatent Application No. 63/002,510, filed on Mar. 31, 2020; and U.S.Provisional Patent Application No. 63/003,622, filed on Apr. 1, 2020.The content of the above-identified patent document is incorporatedherein by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates generally to wireless communicationsystems and, more specifically, the present disclosure relates to amulti-beam downlink and uplink wireless system.

BACKGROUND

5th generation (5G) or new radio (NR) mobile communications is recentlygathering increased momentum with all the worldwide technical activitieson the various candidate technologies from industry and academia. Thecandidate enablers for the 5G/NR mobile communications include massiveantenna technologies, from legacy cellular frequency bands up to highfrequencies, to provide beamforming gain and support increased capacity,new waveform (e.g., a new radio access technology (RAT)) to flexiblyaccommodate various services/applications with different requirements,new multiple access schemes to support massive connections, and so on.

SUMMARY

The present disclosure relates to wireless communication systems and,more specifically, the present disclosure relates to a multi-beamdownlink and uplink wireless system.

In one embodiment, a user equipment (UE) is provided. The UE includes atransceiver configured to receive configuration information for one ormore transmission configuration indication (TCI) states andcorresponding TCI state identifiers (IDs), and one or more TCI stateIDs. The UE also includes a processor operably connected to thetransceiver. The processor is configured to determine, based on the oneor more TCI state ID, at least one of one or more first spatial domainfilters for reception of one or more layers, respectively, of a downlinkchannel and one or more second spatial domain filters for transmissionof one or more layers, respectively, of an uplink channel. Thetransceiver is further configured to at least one of receive the one ormore layers of the downlink channel using the one or more first spatialdomain filters, respectively, and transmit the one or more layers of theuplink channel using the one or more second spatial domain filters,respectively.

In another embodiment, a base station (BS) is provided. The BS includesa transceiver configured to transmit configuration information for oneor more TCI states and corresponding TCI state IDs. The BS also includesprocessor operably connected to the transceiver. The processor isconfigured to determine at least one of one or more first TCI states forone or more layers, respectively, of a downlink channel and one moresecond TCI states for one or more layers, respectively, of an uplinkchannel. The processor is configured to generate a number of TCI stateIDs corresponding to the at least one of the one or more first TCIstates and the one or more second TCI states. The transceiver is furtherconfigured to transmit the number of TCI state IDs; and at least one oftransmit the one or more layers of the downlink channel using one ormore first spatial domain filters, respectively, corresponding to theone or more first TCI states, respectively, and receive the one or morelayers of the uplink channel using one or more second spatial domainfilters, respectively, corresponding to the one or more second TCIstates, respectively.

In yet another embodiment, a method of a UE is provided. The methodincludes receiving configuration information for one or more TCI statesand corresponding TCI state IDs and receiving one or more TCI state IDs.The method also includes determining, based on the one or more TCI stateIDs, at least one of one or more first spatial domain filters forreception of one or more layers, respectively, of a downlink channel andone or more second spatial domain filters for transmission of one ormore layers, respectively, of an uplink channel. The method furtherincludes at least one of receiving the one or more layers of thedownlink channel using the one or more first spatial domain filters,respectively, and transmitting the one or more layers of the uplinkchannel using the one or more second spatial domain filters,respectively.

Other technical features may be readily apparent to one skilled in theart from the following figures, descriptions, and claims.

Before undertaking the DETAILED DESCRIPTION below, it may beadvantageous to set forth definitions of certain words and phrases usedthroughout this patent document. The term “couple” and its derivativesrefer to any direct or indirect communication between two or moreelements, whether or not those elements are in physical contact with oneanother. The terms “transmit,” “receive,” and “communicate,” as well asderivatives thereof, encompass both direct and indirect communication.The terms “include” and “comprise,” as well as derivatives thereof, meaninclusion without limitation. The term “or” is inclusive, meaningand/or. The phrase “associated with,” as well as derivatives thereof,means to include, be included within, interconnect with, contain, becontained within, connect to or with, couple to or with, be communicablewith, cooperate with, interleave, juxtapose, be proximate to, be boundto or with, have, have a property of, have a relationship to or with, orthe like. The term “controller” means any device, system, or partthereof that controls at least one operation. Such a controller may beimplemented in hardware or a combination of hardware and software and/orfirmware. The functionality associated with any particular controllermay be centralized or distributed, whether locally or remotely. Thephrase “at least one of,” when used with a list of items, means thatdifferent combinations of one or more of the listed items may be used,and only one item in the list may be needed. For example, “at least oneof: A, B, and C” includes any of the following combinations: A, B, C, Aand B, A and C, B and C, and A and B and C.

Moreover, various functions described below can be implemented orsupported by one or more computer programs, each of which is formed fromcomputer readable program code and embodied in a computer readablemedium. The terms “application” and “program” refer to one or morecomputer programs, software components, sets of instructions,procedures, functions, objects, classes, instances, related data, or aportion thereof adapted for implementation in a suitable computerreadable program code. The phrase “computer readable program code”includes any type of computer code, including source code, object code,and executable code. The phrase “computer readable medium” includes anytype of medium capable of being accessed by a computer, such as readonly memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), a hard disk drive, acompact disc (CD), a digital video disc (DVD), or any other type ofmemory. A “non-transitory” computer readable medium excludes wired,wireless, optical, or other communication links that transporttransitory electrical or other signals. A non-transitory computerreadable medium includes media where data can be permanently stored andmedia where data can be stored and later overwritten, such as arewritable optical disc or an erasable memory device.

Definitions for other certain words and phrases are provided throughoutthis patent document. Those of ordinary skill in the art shouldunderstand that in many if not most instances, such definitions apply toprior as well as future uses of such defined words and phrases.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For a more complete understanding of the present disclosure and itsadvantages, reference is now made to the following description taken inconjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which like referencenumerals represent like parts:

FIG. 1 illustrates an example wireless network according to embodimentsof the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 illustrates an example gNB according to embodiments of thepresent disclosure;

FIG. 3 illustrates an example UE according to embodiments of the presentdisclosure;

FIGS. 4 and 5 illustrate example wireless transmit and receive pathsaccording to this disclosure;

FIG. 6A illustrates an example of a beam in a wireless system accordingto embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 6B illustrates an example multi-beam operation according toembodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 7 illustrates an example antenna structure according to embodimentsof the present disclosure;

FIG. 8 illustrates an example DL multi-beam operation according toembodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 9 illustrates another example DL multi-beam operation according toembodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 10 illustrates an example UL multi-beam operation according toembodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 11 illustrates another example UL multi-beam operation according toembodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 12 illustrates an example multi-path environment with 2 RF pathsaccording to embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 13 illustrates an example TCI-state configuration according toembodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 14 illustrates another example TCI-state configuration according toembodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 15 illustrates yet another example TCI-state configurationaccording to embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 16 illustrates yet another example TCI-state configurationaccording to embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 17 illustrates yet another example TCI-state configurationaccording to embodiments of the present disclosure; and

FIG. 18 illustrates yet another example TCI-state configurationaccording to embodiments of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 through FIG. 18 , discussed below, and the various embodimentsused to describe the principles of the present disclosure in this patentdocument are by way of illustration only and should not be construed inany way to limit the scope of the disclosure. Those skilled in the artwill understand that the principles of the present disclosure may beimplemented in any suitably arranged system or device.

The following documents are hereby incorporated by reference into thepresent disclosure as if fully set forth herein: 3GPP TS 38.211 v16.4.0,“NR; Physical channels and modulation”; 3GPP TS 38.212 v16.4.0, “NR;Multiplexing and Channel coding”; 3GPP TS 38.213 v16.4.0, “NR; PhysicalLayer Procedures for Control”; 3GPP TS 38.214 v16.4.0, “NR; PhysicalLayer Procedures for Data”; 3GPP TS 38.321 v16.3.0, “NR; Medium AccessControl (MAC) protocol specification”; and 3GPP TS 38.331 v16.3.1, “NR;Radio Resource Control (RRC) Protocol Specification.”

FIGS. 1-3 below describe various embodiments implemented in wirelesscommunications systems and with the use of orthogonal frequency divisionmultiplexing (OFDM) or orthogonal frequency division multiple access(OFDMA) communication techniques. The descriptions of FIGS. 1-3 are notmeant to imply physical or architectural limitations to the manner inwhich different embodiments may be implemented. Different embodiments ofthe present disclosure may be implemented in any suitably-arrangedcommunications system.

FIG. 1 illustrates an example wireless network according to embodimentsof the present disclosure. The embodiment of the wireless network shownin FIG. 1 is for illustration only. Other embodiments of the wirelessnetwork 100 could be used without departing from the scope of thisdisclosure.

As shown in FIG. 1 , the wireless network includes a gNB 101 (e.g., basestation, BS), a gNB 102, and a gNB 103. The gNB 101 communicates withthe gNB 102 and the gNB 103. The gNB 101 also communicates with at leastone network 130, such as the Internet, a proprietary Internet Protocol(IP) network, or other data network.

The gNB 102 provides wireless broadband access to the network 130 for afirst plurality of user equipments (UEs) within a coverage area 120 ofthe gNB 102. The first plurality of UEs includes a UE 111, which may belocated in a small business; a UE 112, which may be located in anenterprise (E); a UE 113, which may be located in a WiFi hotspot (HS); aUE 114, which may be located in a first residence (R); a UE 115, whichmay be located in a second residence (R); and a UE 116, which may be amobile device (M), such as a cell phone, a wireless laptop, a wirelessPDA, or the like. The gNB 103 provides wireless broadband access to thenetwork 130 for a second plurality of UEs within a coverage area 125 ofthe gNB 103. The second plurality of UEs includes the UE 115 and the UE116. In some embodiments, one or more of the gNBs 101-103 maycommunicate with each other and with the UEs 111-116 using 5G/NR, longterm evolution (LTE), long term evolution-advanced (LTE-A), WiMAX, WiFi,or other wireless communication techniques.

Depending on the network type, the term “base station” or “BS” can referto any component (or collection of components) configured to providewireless access to a network, such as transmit point (TP),transmit-receive point (TRP), an enhanced base station (eNodeB or eNB),a 5G/NR base station (gNB), a macrocell, a femtocell, a WiFi accesspoint (AP), or other wirelessly enabled devices. Base stations mayprovide wireless access in accordance with one or more wirelesscommunication protocols, e.g., 5G/NR 3GPP NR, long term evolution (LTE),LTE advanced (LTE-A), high speed packet access (HSPA), Wi-Fi802.11a/b/g/n/ac, etc. For the sake of convenience, the terms “BS” and“TRP” are used interchangeably in this patent document to refer tonetwork infrastructure components that provide wireless access to remoteterminals. Also, depending on the network type, the term “userequipment” or “UE” can refer to any component such as “mobile station,”“subscriber station,” “remote terminal,” “wireless terminal,” “receivepoint,” or “user device.” For the sake of convenience, the terms “userequipment” and “UE” are used in this patent document to refer to remotewireless equipment that wirelessly accesses a BS, whether the UE is amobile device (such as a mobile telephone or smartphone) or is normallyconsidered a stationary device (such as a desktop computer or vendingmachine).

Dotted lines show the approximate extents of the coverage areas 120 and125, which are shown as approximately circular for the purposes ofillustration and explanation only. It should be clearly understood thatthe coverage areas associated with gNBs, such as the coverage areas 120and 125, may have other shapes, including irregular shapes, dependingupon the configuration of the gNBs and variations in the radioenvironment associated with natural and man-made obstructions.

As described in more detail below, one or more of the UEs 111-116include circuitry, programing, or a combination thereof, for utilizing amulti-beam downlink and uplink wireless system. In certain embodiments,and one or more of the gNBs 101-103 includes circuitry, programing, or acombination thereof, for utilizing a multi-beam downlink and uplinkwireless system.

Although FIG. 1 illustrates one example of a wireless network, variouschanges may be made to FIG. 1 . For example, the wireless network couldinclude any number of gNBs and any number of UEs in any suitablearrangement. Also, the gNB 101 could communicate directly with anynumber of UEs and provide those UEs with wireless broadband access tothe network 130. Similarly, each gNB 102-103 could communicate directlywith the network 130 and provide UEs with direct wireless broadbandaccess to the network 130. Further, the gNBs 101, 102, and/or 103 couldprovide access to other or additional external networks, such asexternal telephone networks or other types of data networks.

FIG. 2 illustrates an example gNB 102 according to embodiments of thepresent disclosure. The embodiment of the gNB 102 illustrated in FIG. 2is for illustration only, and the gNBs 101 and 103 of FIG. 1 could havethe same or similar configuration. However, gNBs come in a wide varietyof configurations, and FIG. 2 does not limit the scope of thisdisclosure to any particular implementation of a gNB.

As shown in FIG. 2 , the gNB 102 includes multiple antennas 205 a-205 n,multiple RF transceivers 210 a-210 n, transmit (TX) processing circuitry215, and receive (RX) processing circuitry 220. The gNB 102 alsoincludes a controller/processor 225, a memory 230, and a backhaul ornetwork interface 235.

The RF transceivers 210 a-210 n receive, from the antennas 205 a-205 n,incoming RF signals, such as signals transmitted by UEs in the network100. The RF transceivers 210 a-210 n down-convert the incoming RFsignals to generate IF or baseband signals. The IF or baseband signalsare sent to the RX processing circuitry 220, which generates processedbaseband signals by filtering, decoding, and/or digitizing the basebandor IF signals. The RX processing circuitry 220 transmits the processedbaseband signals to the controller/processor 225 for further processing.

The TX processing circuitry 215 receives analog or digital data (such asvoice data, web data, e-mail, or interactive video game data) from thecontroller/processor 225. The TX processing circuitry 215 encodes,multiplexes, and/or digitizes the outgoing baseband data to generateprocessed baseband or IF signals. The RF transceivers 210 a-210 nreceive the outgoing processed baseband or IF signals from the TXprocessing circuitry 215 and up-converts the baseband or IF signals toRF signals that are transmitted via the antennas 205 a-205 n.

The controller/processor 225 can include one or more processors or otherprocessing devices that control the overall operation of the gNB 102.For example, the controller/processor 225 could control the reception offorward channel signals and the transmission of reverse channel signalsby the RF transceivers 210 a-210 n, the RX processing circuitry 220, andthe TX processing circuitry 215 in accordance with well-knownprinciples. The controller/processor 225 could support additionalfunctions as well, such as more advanced wireless communicationfunctions. For instance, the controller/processor 225 could support beamforming or directional routing operations in which outgoing/incomingsignals from/to multiple antennas 205 a-205 n are weighted differentlyto effectively steer the outgoing signals in a desired direction. Any ofa wide variety of other functions could be supported in the gNB 102 bythe controller/processor 225.

The controller/processor 225 is also capable of executing programs andother processes resident in the memory 230, such as an OS. Thecontroller/processor 225 can move data into or out of the memory 230 asrequired by an executing process.

The controller/processor 225 is also coupled to the backhaul or networkinterface 235. The backhaul or network interface 235 allows the gNB 102to communicate with other devices or systems over a backhaul connectionor over a network. The interface 235 could support communications overany suitable wired or wireless connection(s). For example, when the gNB102 is implemented as part of a cellular communication system (such asone supporting 5G/NR, LTE, or LTE-A), the interface 235 could allow thegNB 102 to communicate with other gNBs over a wired or wireless backhaulconnection. When the gNB 102 is implemented as an access point, theinterface 235 could allow the gNB 102 to communicate over a wired orwireless local area network or over a wired or wireless connection to alarger network (such as the Internet). The interface 235 includes anysuitable structure supporting communications over a wired or wirelessconnection, such as an Ethernet or RF transceiver.

The memory 230 is coupled to the controller/processor 225. Part of thememory 230 could include a RAM, and another part of the memory 230 couldinclude a Flash memory or other ROM.

Although FIG. 2 illustrates one example of gNB 102, various changes maybe made to FIG. 2 . For example, the gNB 102 could include any number ofeach component shown in FIG. 2 . As a particular example, an accesspoint could include a number of interfaces 235, and thecontroller/processor 225 could support routing functions to route databetween different network addresses. As another particular example,while shown as including a single instance of TX processing circuitry215 and a single instance of RX processing circuitry 220, the gNB 102could include multiple instances of each (such as one per RFtransceiver). Also, various components in FIG. 2 could be combined,further subdivided, or omitted and additional components could be addedaccording to particular needs.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example UE 116 according to embodiments of thepresent disclosure. The embodiment of the UE 116 illustrated in FIG. 3is for illustration only, and the UEs 111-115 of FIG. 1 could have thesame or similar configuration. However, UEs come in a wide variety ofconfigurations, and FIG. 3 does not limit the scope of this disclosureto any particular implementation of a UE.

As shown in FIG. 3 , the UE 116 includes an antenna 305, a radiofrequency (RF) transceiver 310, TX processing circuitry 315, amicrophone 320, and receive (RX) processing circuitry 325. The UE 116also includes a speaker 330, a processor 340, an input/output (I/O)interface (IF) 345, a touchscreen 350, a display 355, and a memory 360.The memory 360 includes an operating system (OS) 361 and one or moreapplications 362.

The RF transceiver 310 receives, from the antenna 305, an incoming RFsignal transmitted by a gNB of the network 100. The RF transceiver 310down-converts the incoming RF signal to generate an intermediatefrequency (IF) or baseband signal. The IF or baseband signal is sent tothe RX processing circuitry 325, which generates a processed basebandsignal by filtering, decoding, and/or digitizing the baseband or IFsignal. The RX processing circuitry 325 transmits the processed basebandsignal to the speaker 330 (such as for voice data) or to the processor340 for further processing (such as for web browsing data).

The TX processing circuitry 315 receives analog or digital voice datafrom the microphone 320 or other outgoing baseband data (such as webdata, e-mail, or interactive video game data) from the processor 340.The TX processing circuitry 315 encodes, multiplexes, and/or digitizesthe outgoing baseband data to generate a processed baseband or IFsignal. The RF transceiver 310 receives the outgoing processed basebandor IF signal from the TX processing circuitry 315 and up-converts thebaseband or IF signal to an RF signal that is transmitted via theantenna 305.

The processor 340 can include one or more processors or other processingdevices and execute the OS 361 stored in the memory 360 in order tocontrol the overall operation of the UE 116. For example, the processor340 could control the reception of forward channel signals and thetransmission of reverse channel signals by the RF transceiver 310, theRX processing circuitry 325, and the TX processing circuitry 315 inaccordance with well-known principles. In some embodiments, theprocessor 340 includes at least one microprocessor or microcontroller.

The processor 340 is also capable of executing other processes andprograms resident in the memory 360, such as processes for beammanagement. The processor 340 can move data into or out of the memory360 as required by an executing process. In some embodiments, theprocessor 340 is configured to execute the applications 362 based on theOS 361 or in response to signals received from gNBs or an operator. Theprocessor 340 is also coupled to the I/O interface 345, which providesthe UE 116 with the ability to connect to other devices, such as laptopcomputers and handheld computers. The I/O interface 345 is thecommunication path between these accessories and the processor 340.

The processor 340 is also coupled to the touchscreen 350 and the display355. The operator of the UE 116 can use the touchscreen 350 to enterdata into the UE 116. The display 355 may be a liquid crystal display,light emitting diode display, or other display capable of rendering textand/or at least limited graphics, such as from web sites.

The memory 360 is coupled to the processor 340. Part of the memory 360could include a random access memory (RAM), and another part of thememory 360 could include a Flash memory or other read-only memory (ROM).

Although FIG. 3 illustrates one example of UE 116, various changes maybe made to FIG. 3 . For example, various components in FIG. 3 could becombined, further subdivided, or omitted and additional components couldbe added according to particular needs. As a particular example, theprocessor 340 could be divided into multiple processors, such as one ormore central processing units (CPUs) and one or more graphics processingunits (GPUs). Also, while FIG. 3 illustrates the UE 116 configured as amobile telephone or smartphone, UEs could be configured to operate asother types of mobile or stationary devices.

To meet the demand for wireless data traffic having increased sincedeployment of 4G communication systems and to enable various verticalapplications, 5G/NR communication systems have been developed and arecurrently being deployed. The 5G/NR communication system is consideredto be implemented in higher frequency (mmWave) bands, e.g., 28 GHz or 60GHz bands, so as to accomplish higher data rates or in lower frequencybands, such as 6 GHz, to enable robust coverage and mobility support. Todecrease propagation loss of the radio waves and increase thetransmission distance, the beamforming, massive multiple-inputmultiple-output (MIMO), full dimensional MIMO (FD-MIMO), array antenna,an analog beam forming, large scale antenna techniques are discussed in5G/NR communication systems.

In addition, in 5G/NR communication systems, development for systemnetwork improvement is under way based on advanced small cells, cloudradio access networks (RANs), ultra-dense networks, device-to-device(D2D) communication, wireless backhaul, moving network, cooperativecommunication, coordinated multi-points (CoMP), reception-endinterference cancellation and the like.

The discussion of 5G systems and frequency bands associated therewith isfor reference as certain embodiments of the present disclosure may beimplemented in 5G systems. However, the present disclosure is notlimited to 5G systems or the frequency bands associated therewith, andembodiments of the present disclosure may be utilized in connection withany frequency band. For example, aspects of the present disclosure mayalso be applied to deployment of 5G communication systems, 6G or evenlater releases which may use terahertz (THz) bands.

A communication system includes a downlink (DL) that refers totransmissions from a base station or one or more transmission points toUEs and an uplink (UL) that refers to transmissions from UEs to a basestation or to one or more reception points.

A time unit for DL signaling or for UL signaling on a cell is referredto as a slot and can include one or more symbols. A symbol can alsoserve as an additional time unit. A frequency (or bandwidth (BW)) unitis referred to as a resource block (RB). One RB includes a number ofsub-carriers (SCs). For example, a slot can have duration of 0.5milliseconds or 1 millisecond, include 14 symbols and an RB can include12 SCs with inter-SC spacing of 15 KHz or 30 KHz, and so on.

DL signals include data signals conveying information content, controlsignals conveying DL control information (DCI), and reference signals(RS) that are also known as pilot signals. A gNB transmits datainformation or DCI through respective physical DL shared channels(PDSCHs) or physical DL control channels (PDCCHs). A PDSCH or a PDCCHcan be transmitted over a variable number of slot symbols including oneslot symbol. For brevity, a DCI format scheduling a PDSCH reception by aUE is referred to as a DL DCI format and a DCI format scheduling aphysical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) transmission from a UE isreferred to as an UL DCI format.

A gNB transmits one or more of multiple types of RS including channelstate information RS (CSI-RS) and demodulation RS (DMRS). A CSI-RS isprimarily intended for UEs to perform measurements and provide CSI to agNB. For channel measurement, non-zero power CSI-RS (NZP CSI-RS)resources are used. For interference measurement reports (IMRs), CSIinterference measurement (CSI-IM) resources associated with a zero powerCSI-RS (ZP CSI-RS) configuration are used. A CSI process includes NZPCSI-RS and CSI-IM resources.

A UE can determine CSI-RS transmission parameters through DL controlsignaling or higher layer signaling, such as radio resource control(RRC) signaling, from a gNB. Transmission instances of a CSI-RS can beindicated by DL control signaling or be configured by higher layersignaling. A DM-RS is transmitted only in the BW of a respective PDCCHor PDSCH and a UE can use the DMRS to demodulate data or controlinformation.

FIG. 4 and FIG. 5 illustrate example wireless transmit and receive pathsaccording to this disclosure. In the following description, a transmitpath 400 may be described as being implemented in a gNB (such as the gNB102), while a receive path 500 may be described as being implemented ina UE (such as a UE 116). However, it may be understood that the receivepath 500 can be implemented in a gNB and that the transmit path 400 canbe implemented in a UE. In some embodiments, the receive path 500 isconfigured to support the beam indication channel in a multi-beam systemas described in embodiments of the present disclosure.

The transmit path 400 as illustrated in FIG. 4 includes a channel codingand modulation block 405, a serial-to-parallel (S-to-P) block 410, asize N inverse fast Fourier transform (IFFT) block 415, aparallel-to-serial (P-to-S) block 420, an add cyclic prefix block 425,and an up-converter (UC) 430. The receive path 500 as illustrated inFIG. 5 includes a down-converter (DC) 555, a remove cyclic prefix block560, a serial-to-parallel (S-to-P) block 565, a size N fast Fouriertransform (FFT) block 570, a parallel-to-serial (P-to-S) block 575, anda channel decoding and demodulation block 580.

As illustrated in FIG. 400 , the channel coding and modulation block 405receives a set of information bits, applies coding (such as alow-density parity check (LDPC) coding), and modulates the input bits(such as with quadrature phase shift keying (QPSK) or quadratureamplitude modulation (QAM)) to generate a sequence of frequency-domainmodulation symbols.

The serial-to-parallel block 410 converts (such as de-multiplexes) theserial modulated symbols to parallel data in order to generate Nparallel symbol streams, where N is the IFFT/FFT size used in the gNB102 and the UE 116. The size N IFFT block 415 performs an IFFT operationon the N parallel symbol streams to generate time-domain output signals.The parallel-to-serial block 420 converts (such as multiplexes) theparallel time-domain output symbols from the size N IFFT block 415 inorder to generate a serial time-domain signal. The add cyclic prefixblock 425 inserts a cyclic prefix to the time-domain signal. Theup-converter 430 modulates (such as up-converts) the output of the addcyclic prefix block 425 to an RF frequency for transmission via awireless channel. The signal may also be filtered at baseband beforeconversion to the RF frequency.

A transmitted RF signal from the gNB 102 arrives at the UE 116 afterpassing through the wireless channel, and reverse operations to those atthe gNB 102 are performed at the UE 116.

As illustrated in FIG. 5 , the down-converter 555 down-converts thereceived signal to a baseband frequency, and the remove cyclic prefixblock 560 removes the cyclic prefix to generate a serial time-domainbaseband signal. The serial-to-parallel block 565 converts thetime-domain baseband signal to parallel time domain signals. The size NFFT block 570 performs an FFT algorithm to generate N parallelfrequency-domain signals. The parallel-to-serial block 575 converts theparallel frequency-domain signals to a sequence of modulated datasymbols. The channel decoding and demodulation block 580 demodulates anddecodes the modulated symbols to recover the original input data stream.

Each of the gNBs 101-103 may implement a transmit path 400 asillustrated in FIG. 4 that is analogous to transmitting in the downlinkto UEs 111-116 and may implement a receive path 500 as illustrated inFIG. 5 that is analogous to receiving in the uplink from UEs 111-116.Similarly, each of UEs 111-116 may implement the transmit path 400 fortransmitting in the uplink to the gNBs 101-103 and may implement thereceive path 500 for receiving in the downlink from the gNBs 101-103.

Each of the components in FIG. 4 and FIG. 5 can be implemented usingonly hardware or using a combination of hardware and software/firmware.As a particular example, at least some of the components in FIG. 4 andFIG. 5 may be implemented in software, while other components may beimplemented by configurable hardware or a mixture of software andconfigurable hardware. For instance, the FFT block 570 and the IFFTblock 415 may be implemented as configurable software algorithms, wherethe value of size N may be modified according to the implementation.

Furthermore, although described as using FFT and IFFT, this is by way ofillustration only and may not be construed to limit the scope of thisdisclosure. Other types of transforms, such as discrete Fouriertransform (DFT) and inverse discrete Fourier transform (IDFT) functions,can be used. It may be appreciated that the value of the variable N maybe any integer number (such as 1, 2, 3, 4, or the like) for DFT and IDFTfunctions, while the value of the variable N may be any integer numberthat is a power of two (such as 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, or the like) for FFT andIFFT functions.

Although FIG. 4 and FIG. 5 illustrate examples of wireless transmit andreceive paths, various changes may be made to FIG. 4 and FIG. 5 . Forexample, various components in FIG. 4 and FIG. 5 can be combined,further subdivided, or omitted and additional components can be addedaccording to particular needs. Also, FIG. 4 and FIG. 5 are meant toillustrate examples of the types of transmit and receive paths that canbe used in a wireless network. Any other suitable architectures can beused to support wireless communications in a wireless network.

FIG. 6A illustrate an example of a beam in a wireless system 600according to embodiments of the present disclosure. An embodiment of thebeam shown in FIG. 6A is for illustration only.

As illustrated in FIG. 6A, in the wireless system 600, a beam 601, for adevice 604, can be characterized by a beam direction 602 and a beamwidth 603. For example, a device 604 with a transmitter transmits RFenergy in a beam direction and within a beam width. The device 604 witha receiver receives RF energy coming towards the device in a beamdirection and within a beam width. As illustrated in FIG. 6A, a deviceat point A 605 can receive from and transmit to the device 604 as PointA is within a beam width of a beam traveling in a beam direction andcoming from the device 604. A device at point B (606) cannot receivefrom and transmit to device (604) as Point B is outside a beam width anddirection of a beam from device (604). While FIG. 6A, for illustrativepurposes, shows a beam in 2-dimensions (2D), it should be apparent tothose skilled in the art, that a beam can be in 3-dimensions (3D), wherethe beam direction and beam width are defined in space.

FIG. 6B illustrate an example multi-beam operation 650 according toembodiments of the present disclosure. An embodiment of the multi-beamoperation 650 shown in FIG. 6B is for illustration only.

In a wireless system, a device can transmit and/or receive on multiplebeams. This is known as “multi-beam operation” and is illustrated inFIG. 6B. While FIG. 6B, for illustrative purposes, is in 2D, it may beapparent to those skilled in the art, that a beam can be 3D, where abeam can be transmitted to or received from any direction in space.

Rel.14 LTE and Rel.15 NR support up to 32 CSI-RS antenna ports whichenable an eNB to be equipped with a large number of antenna elements(such as 64 or 128). In this case, a plurality of antenna elements ismapped onto one CSI-RS port. For mmWave bands, although the number ofantenna elements can be larger for a given form factor, the number ofCSI-RS ports—which can correspond to the number of digitally precodedports—tends to be limited due to hardware constraints (such as thefeasibility to install a large number of ADCs/DACs at mmWavefrequencies) as illustrated in FIG. 7 .

FIG. 7 illustrates an example antenna structure 700 according toembodiments of the present disclosure. An embodiment of the antennastructure 700 shown in FIG. 7 is for illustration only. For example, theantenna structure 700 may be present in a wireless communication device,such as, for example, the UE 116 or the gNB 102 in FIG. 1 .

In this case, one CSI-RS port is mapped onto a large number of antennaelements which can be controlled by a bank of analog phase shifters 701.One CSI-RS port can then correspond to one sub-array which produces anarrow analog beam through analog beamforming 705. This analog beam canbe configured to sweep across a wider range of angles 720 by varying thephase shifter bank across symbols or subframes. The number of sub-arrays(equal to the number of RF chains) is the same as the number of CSI-RSports N_(CSI-PORT). A digital beamforming unit 710 performs a linearcombination across N_(CSI-PORT) analog beams to further increaseprecoding gain. While analog beams are wideband (hence notfrequency-selective), digital precoding can be varied across frequencysub-bands or resource blocks. Receiver operation can be conceivedanalogously.

Since the described system utilizes multiple analog beams fortransmission and reception (wherein one or a small number of analogbeams are selected out of a large number, for instance, after a trainingduration—to be performed from time to time), the term “multi-beamoperation” is used to refer to the overall system aspect. This includes,for the purpose of illustration, indicating the assigned DL or ULtransmit (TX) beam (also termed “beam indication”), measuring at leastone reference signal for calculating and performing beam reporting (alsotermed “beam measurement” and “beam reporting”, respectively), andreceiving a DL or UL transmission via a selection of a correspondingreceive (RX) beam.

The described system is also applicable to higher frequency bands suchas >52.6 GHz. In this case, the system can employ only analog beams. Dueto the O2 absorption loss around 60 GHz frequency (˜10 dB additionalloss @100 m distance), larger number of and sharper analog beams (hencelarger number of radiators in the array) may be needed to compensate forthe additional path loss.

In Rel-15 NR, multi-beam operation is designed primarily for a singleTRP and a single antenna panel. Therefore, the specification supportsbeam indication for one TX beam wherein a TX beam is associated with areference RS. For DL beam indication and measurement, the reference RScan be a NZP (non-zero power) CSI-RS and/or a SS/PBCH block(synchronization signal/primary broadcast channel block) or SSB forbrevity, that includes a primary synchronization signal, a secondarysynchronization signal, and a PBCH.

A DL beam indication is done via the transmission configurationindicator (TCI) field in a DCI format where the indication includes anindex to one (and only one) assigned reference RS. A set of hypotheses,or so-called TCI states, is configured via higher-layer (e.g., RRC)signaling and, when applicable, a subset of those TCI states isselected/activated via MAC control element (CE) for the TCI field codepoints. For UL beam indication and measurement, the reference RS can beNZP CSI-RS, SSB, and/or SRS.

An UL beam indication is done via the SRS resource indicator (SRI) fieldin a DCI format where the indication is linked to one (and only one)reference RS. The link is configured via higher-layer signaling using aSpatialRelationInfo higher layer (e.g., RRC) parameter. Essentially,only one TX beam is indicated to the UE.

Furthermore, a purpose-designed DL channel for beam indication can beused by a NW/gNB to indicate to a UE a TCI state for receptions and/or aTCI-state and/or joint TCI-state for receptions and transmissions thatcouples DL and UL beam indications, and/or SRI for an upcoming DLchannel(s) and/or UL channel(s) transmissions.

Furthermore, the beam of the beam indication channel can be designed toprovide wider beam coverage than a beam coverage for data or controlchannels and can be additionally designed such that adjacent beams ofthe beam indication channel partially overlap to provide for more robustcoverage in a dynamic multi-path environment.

Furthermore, for a dispersive and fast changing multi-path environment,the TCI-state of a beam indication channel can comprise of multiplebeams. A gNB can transmit and a UE can receive the TCI indicationchannel on one or more of these beams. Furthermore, when the beamindication channel is intended to be received by a group of UEs, theTCI-state of the beam indication channel is comprised of the beamscovering the group of UEs.

The present disclosure considers additional design aspects related tooperation in a multi-path environment with multiple beams, wherein the5G NR data channels in the downlink (PDSCH) and uplink (PUSCH)directions can include multiple layers, wherein the layers can beconfigured and assigned to different TX beams. The disclosure alsoconsiders aspects related to joint UL/DL 5G NR data channel (e.g.,PDSCH/PUSCH) beam signaling, for example, in case of beam correspondenceor when a number of layers of the UL and DL data channels (e.g.,PDSCH/PUSCH) can be different. The disclosure further considers aspectsrelated to joint 5G NR data/control channel (e.g., PDSCH/PDCCH orPUSCH/PUCCH) beam signaling, for example, in case the data channel isconfigured and assigned multiple Tx beams. The disclosure additionallyconsiders aspects related to joint beam signaling across multiplecomponent carriers and/or bandwidth parts (BWPs), for example when anumber of layers and/or Tx beams is different for different respectivecomponent carriers/cells or BWPs of a component carrier/cell.

In the following, both frequency division duplexing (FDD) and timedivision duplexing (TDD) are considered as a duplex method for DL and ULsignaling. Although exemplary descriptions and embodiments to followassume orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) or orthogonalfrequency division multiple access (OFDMA), the present disclosure canbe extended to other OFDM-based transmission waveforms or multipleaccess schemes such as filtered OFDM (F-OFDM).

The present disclosure considers several components that can be used inconjunction or in combination with one another or can operate asstandalone schemes.

In the present disclosure, the term “activation” describes an operationwherein a UE receives and decodes a signal from the network (or gNB)that signifies a starting point in time. The starting point can be apresent or a future slot/subframe or symbol and the exact location iseither implicitly or explicitly indicated or is otherwise specified inthe system operation or is configured by higher layers. Uponsuccessfully decoding the signal, the UE responds according to anindication provided by the signal. The term “deactivation” describes anoperation wherein a UE receives and decodes a signal from the network(or gNB) that signifies a stopping point in time. The stopping point canbe a present or a future slot/subframe or symbol and the exact locationis either implicitly or explicitly indicated or is otherwise specifiedin the system operation or is configured by higher layers. Uponsuccessfully decoding the signal, the UE responds according to anindication provided by the signal.

Terminology such as TCI, TCI states, SpatialRelationInfo, target RS,reference RS, and other terms is used for illustrative purposes and istherefore not normative. Other terms that refer to same functions canalso be used.

A “reference RS” corresponds to a set of characteristics of a DL beam oran UL TX beam, such as a direction, a precoding/beamforming, a number ofports, and so on. For instance, for DL, as the UE receives a referenceRS index/ID, for example through a field in a DCI format, that isrepresented by a TCI state, the UE applies the known characteristics ofthe reference RS to associated DL reception. The reference RS can bereceived and measured by the UE (for example, the reference RS is adownlink signal such as NZP CSI-RS and/or SSB) and the UE can use theresult of the measurement for calculating a beam report (in Rel-15 NR, abeam report includes at least one L1-RSRP accompanied by at least oneCRI). Using the received beam report, the NW/gNB can assign a particularDL TX beam to the UE. A reference RS can also be transmitted by the UE(for example, the reference RS is an uplink signal such as SRS). As theNW/gNB receives the reference RS from the UE, the NW/gNB can measure andcalculate information used to assign a particular DL TX beam to the UE.This option is applicable at least when there is DL-UL beam paircorrespondence.

In another instance, for UL transmissions, a UE can receive a referenceRS index/ID in a DCI format scheduling an UL transmission such as aPUSCH transmission and the UE then applies the known characteristics ofthe reference RS to the UL transmission. The reference RS can bereceived and measured by the UE (for example, the reference RS is adownlink signal such as NZP CSI-RS and/or SSB) and the UE can use theresult of the measurement to calculate a beam report. The NW/gNB can usethe beam report to assign a particular UL TX beam to the UE. This optionis applicable at least when DL-UL beam pair correspondence holds. Areference RS can also be transmitted by the UE (for example, thereference RS is an uplink signal such as SRS or DMRS). The NW/gNB canuse the received reference RS to measure and calculate information thatthe NW/gNB can use to assign a particular UL TX beam to the UE.

The reference RS can be triggered by the NW/gNB, for example via DCI incase of aperiodic (AP) RS or can be configured with a certaintime-domain behavior, such as a periodicity and offset in case ofperiodic RS or can be a combination of such configuration andactivation/deactivation in case of semi-persistent RS.

For mmWave bands (or frequency range 2 (FR2)) or for higher frequencybands (such as >52.6 GHz or FR4) where multi-beam operation isespecially relevant, a transmission-reception process includes areceiver selecting a RX beam for a given TX beam. For DL multi-beamoperation, a UE selects a DL RX beam for every DL TX beam (thatcorresponds to a reference RS). Therefore, when DL RS, such as CSI-RSand/or SSB, is used as reference RS, the NW/gNB transmits the DL RS tothe UE for the UE to be able to select a DL RX beam.

In response, the UE measures the DL RS, and in the process selects a DLRX beam, and reports the beam metric associated with the quality of theDL RS. In this case, the UE determines the TX-RX beam pair for everyconfigured (DL) reference RS. Therefore, although this knowledge isunavailable to the NW/gNB, the UE, upon receiving a DL RS associatedwith a DL TX beam indication from the NW/gNB, can select the DL RX beamfrom the information the UE obtains on all the TX-RX beam pairs.Conversely, when an UL RS, such as an SRS and/or a DMRS, is used asreference RS, at least when DL-UL beam correspondence or reciprocityholds, the NW/gNB triggers or configures the UE to transmit the UL RS(for DL and by reciprocity, this corresponds to a DL RX beam). The gNB,upon receiving and measuring the UL RS, can select a DL TX beam. As aresult, a TX-RX beam pair is derived. The NW/gNB can perform thisoperation for all the configured UL RSs, either per reference RS or by“beam sweeping,” and determine all TX-RX beam pairs associated with allthe UL RSs configured to the UE to transmit.

The following two embodiments (A-1 and A-2) are examples of DLmulti-beam operations that utilize DL-TCI-state based DL beamindication. In the first example embodiment (A-1), an aperiodic CSI-RSis transmitted by the NW/gNB and received/measured by the UE. Thisembodiment can be used regardless of whether or not there is UL-DL beamcorrespondence.

In the second example embodiment (A-2), an aperiodic SRS is triggered bythe NW and transmitted by the UE so that the NW (or a gNB) can measurethe UL channel quality for the purpose of assigning a DL RX beam. Thisembodiment can be used at least when there is UL-DL beam correspondence.Although aperiodic RS is considered in the two examples, a periodic or asemi-persistent RS can also be used.

FIG. 8 illustrates an example DL multi-beam operation 800 according toembodiments of the present disclosure. An embodiment of the ULmulti-beam operation 800 shown in FIG. 8 is for illustration only.

In one example illustrated in FIG. 8 (embodiment A-1), a DL multi-beamoperation 800 starts with the gNB/NW signaling to a UE an aperiodicCSI-RS (AP-CSI-RS) trigger or indication (step 801). This trigger orindication can be included in a DCI and indicate transmission ofAP-CSI-RS in a same (zero time offset) or in a later slot/sub-frame (>0time offset). For example, the DCI can be related to scheduling of a DLreception or an UL transmission and the CSI-RS trigger can be eitherjointly or separately coded with a CSI report trigger. Upon receivingthe AP-CSI-RS transmitted by the gNB/NW (step 802), the UE measures theAP-CSI-RS and calculates and reports a “beam metric” that indicates aquality of a particular TX beam hypothesis (step 803). Examples of suchbeam reporting are a CSI-RS resource indicator (CRI), or a SSB resourceindicator (SSB-RI), coupled with an associated layer 1-received signalreceived power (L1-RSRP)/L1-received signal received quality(L1-RSRQ)/L1-signal to interference ratio (L1-SINR)/channel qualityindicator (CQI).

Upon receiving the beam report from the UE, the gNB/NW can use the beamreport to select a DL RX beam for the UE and indicate the DL RX beamselection (step 804) using a TCI-state field in a DCI format such as aDCI format scheduling a PDSCH reception by the UE. In this case, a valueof the TCI-state field indicates a reference RS, such as an AP-CSI-RS,representing the selected DL TX beam (by the gNB/NW). In addition, theTCI-state can also indicate a “target” RS, such as a. CSI-RS, that islinked to the reference RS, such as an AP-CSI-RS. Upon successfullydecoding the DCI format providing the TCI-state, the UE selects an DL RXbeam and performs DL reception, such as a PDSCH reception, using the DLRX beam associated with the reference CSI-RS (step 805).

Alternatively, the gNB/NW can use the beam report to select a DL RX beamfor the UE and indicate to the UE the selected DL RX beam (step 804)using a value of a TCI-state field in a purpose-designed DL channel forbeam indication. A purpose-designed DL channel for beam indication canbe UE-specific or for a group of UEs. For example, a UE-specific DLchannel can be a PDCCH that a UE receives according to a UE-specificsearch space (USS) while a UE-group common DL channel can be a PDCCHthat a UE receives according to a common search space (CSS). In thiscase, the TCI-state indicates a reference RS, such as an AP-CSI-RS,representing the selected DL TX beam (by the gNB/NW). In addition, theTCI-state can also indicate a “target” RS, such as a CSI-RS, that islinked to the reference RS, such as an AP-CSI-RS. Upon successfullydecoding the purpose-designed DL channel for beam indication with theTCI state, the UE selects a DL RX beam and performs DL reception, suchas a PDSCH reception, using the DL RX beam associated with the referenceCSI-RS (step 805).

For this embodiment (A-1), as described above, the UE selects a DL RXbeam using an index of a reference RS, such as an AP-CSI-RS, that isprovided via the TCI state field, for example in a DCI format. In thiscase, the CSI-RS resources or, in general, the DL RS resources includingCSI-RS, SSB, or a combination of the two, that are configured to the UEas the reference RS resources can be linked to (associated with) a “beammetric” reporting such as CRI/L1-RSRP or L1-SINR.

FIG. 9 illustrates another example DL multi-beam operation 900 accordingto embodiments of the present disclosure. An embodiment of the ULmulti-beam operation 900 shown in FIG. 9 is for illustration only.

In another example illustrated in FIG. 9 (embodiment A-2), an DLmulti-beam operation 900 starts with the gNB/NW signaling to a UE anaperiodic SRS (AP-SRS) trigger or request (step 901). This trigger canbe included in a DCI format such as for example a DCI format schedulinga PDSCH reception or a PUSCH transmission. Upon receiving and decodingthe DCI format with the AP-SRS trigger (step 902), the UE transmits anSRS (AP-SRS) to the gNB/NW (step 903) so that the NW (or gNB) canmeasure the UL propagation channel and select a DL RX beam for the UEfor DL (at least when there is beam correspondence).

The gNB/NW can then indicate the DL RX beam selection (step 904) througha value of a TCI-state field in a DCI format, such as a DCI formatscheduling a PDSCH reception. In this case, the TCI state indicates areference RS, such as an AP-SRS, representing the selected DL RX beam.In addition, the TCI state can also indicate a “target” RS, such as aCSI-RS, that is linked to the reference RS, such as an AP-SRS. Uponsuccessfully decoding the DCI format providing the TCI state, the UEperforms DL receptions, such as a PDSCH reception, using the DL RX beamindicated by the TCI-state (step 905).

Alternatively, the gNB/NW can indicate the DL RX beam selection (step904) to the UE using a TCI-state field in a purpose-designed DL channelfor beam indication. A purpose-designed DL channel for beam indicationcan be UE-specific or for a group of UEs. For example, a UE-specific DLchannel can be a PDCCH that a UE receives according to a USS while aUE-group common DL channel can be a PDCCH that a UE receives accordingto a CSS. In this case, the TCI-state indicates a reference RS, such asan AP-SRS, representing the selected DL RX beam. In addition, theTCI-state can also indicate a “target” RS, such as a CSI-RS, that islinked to the reference RS, such as an AP-SRS. Upon successfullydecoding a purpose-designed DL channel for beam indication with theTCI-state, the UE performs DL reception, such as a PDSCH reception, withthe DL RX beam indicated by the TCI-state (step 905).

For this embodiment (A-2), as described above, the UE selects the DL RXbeam based on the UL TX beam associated with the reference RS (AP-SRS)index signaled via the TCI-state field.

Similar, for an UL multi-beam operation, the gNB selects an UL RX beamfor every UL TX beam that corresponds to a reference RS. Therefore, whenan UL RS, such as an SRS and/or a DMRS, is used as a reference RS, theNW/gNB triggers or configures the UE to transmit the UL RS that isassociated with a selection of an UL TX beam. The gNB, upon receivingand measuring the UL RS, selects an UL RX beam. As a result, a TX-RXbeam pair is derived. The NW/gNB can perform this operation for all theconfigured reference RSs, either per reference RS or by “beam sweeping,”and determine all the TX-RX beam pairs associated with all the referenceRSs configured to the UE.

Conversely, when a DL RS, such as a CSI-RS and/or an SSB, is used asreference RS (at least when there is DL-UL beam correspondence orreciprocity), the NW/gNB transmits the RS to the UE (for UL and byreciprocity, this RS also corresponds to an UL RX beam). In response,the UE measures the reference RS (and in the process selects an UL TXbeam) and reports the beam metric associated with the quality of thereference RS. In this case, the UE determines the TX-RX beam pair forevery configured (DL) reference RS. Therefore, although this informationis unavailable to the NW/gNB, upon receiving a reference RS (hence an ULRX beam) indication from the NW/gNB, the UE can select the UL TX beamfrom the information on all the TX-RX beam pairs.

The following two embodiments (B-1 and B-2) are examples of ULmulti-beam operations that utilize TCI-based UL beam indication afterthe network (NW) receives a transmission from the UE. In the firstexample embodiment (B-1), a NW transmits an aperiodic CSI-RS, and a UEreceives and measures the CSI-RS. This embodiment can be used, forinstance, at least when there is reciprocity between the UL and DLbeam-pair-link (BPL). This condition is termed “UL-DL beamcorrespondence.” In the second example embodiment (B-2), the NW triggersan aperiodic SRS transmission from a UE and the UE transmits the SRS sothat the NW (or a gNB) can measure the UL channel quality for thepurpose of assigning an UL TX beam. This embodiment can be usedregardless of whether or not there is UL-DL beam correspondence.Although aperiodic RS is considered in these two examples, periodic orsemi-persistent RS can also be used.

FIG. 10 illustrates an example UL multi-beam operation 1000 according toembodiments of the present disclosure. An embodiment of the ULmulti-beam operation 1000 shown in FIG. 10 is for illustration only.

In one example illustrated in FIG. 10 (embodiment B-1), an UL multi-beamoperation 1000 starts with the gNB/NW signaling to a UE an aperiodicCSI-RS (AP-CSI-RS) trigger or indication (step 1001). This trigger orindication can be included in a DCI format, such as a DCI formatscheduling a PDSCH reception to the UE or a PUSCH transmission from theUE and can be either separately or jointly signaled with an aperiodicCSI request/trigger and indicate transmission of AP-CSI-RS in a sameslot (zero time offset) or in a later slot/sub-frame (>0 time offset).Upon receiving the AP-CSI-RS transmitted by the gNB/NW (step 1002), theUE measures the AP-CSI-RS and, in turn, calculates and reports a “beammetric” (indicating quality of a particular TX beam hypothesis) (step1003). Examples of such beam reporting are CRI or SSB-RI together withan associated L1-RSRP/L1-RSRQ/L1-SINR/CQI.

Upon receiving the beam report from the UE, the gNB/NW can use the beamreport to select an UL TX beam for the UE and indicate the UL TX beamselection (step 1004) using a TCI-state field in a DCI format, such as aDCI format scheduling a PUSCH transmission from the UE. The TCI-stateindicates a reference RS, such as an AP-CSI-RS, representing theselected UL RX beam (by the gNB/NW). In addition, the TCI-state can alsoindicate a “target” RS, such as a SRS, that is linked to the referenceRS, such as an AP-CSI-RS. Upon successfully decoding the DCI formatindicating the TCI-state, the UE selects an UL TX beam and performs ULtransmission, such as a PUSCH transmission, using the UL TX beamassociated with the reference CSI-RS (step 1005).

Alternatively, the gNB/NW can use the beam report to select an UL TXbeam for the UE and indicate the UL TX beam selection (step 1004) to theUE using a value of a TCI-state field in a purpose-designed DL channelfor beam indication. A purpose-designed DL channel for beam indicationcan be UE-specific or for a group of UEs. For example, a UE-specific DLchannel can be a PDCCH that a UE receives according to a USS while aUE-group common DL channel can be a PDCCH that a UE receives accordingto a CSS. In this case, the TCI-state indicates a reference RS, such asan AP-CSI-RS, representing the selected UL RX beam (by the gNB/NW). Inaddition, the TCI-state can also indicate a “target” RS, such as a SRS,that is linked to the reference RS, such as an AP-CSI-RS. Uponsuccessfully decoding a purpose-designed DL channel providing a beamindication by the TCI-state, the UE selects an UL TX beam and performsUL transmission, such as a PUSCH transmission, using the UL TX beamassociated with the reference CSI-RS (step 1005).

For this embodiment (B-1), as described above, the UE selects the UL TXbeam based on the derived DL RX beam associated with the reference RSindex signaled via the value of the TCI-state field. In this case, theCSI-RS resources or, in general, the DL RS resources including CSI-RS,SSB, or a combination of the two, that are configured for the UE as thereference RS resources can be linked to (associated with) “beam metric”reporting such as CRI/L1-RSRP or L1-SINR.

FIG. 11 illustrates another example UL multi-beam operation 1100according to embodiments of the present disclosure. An embodiment of theUL multi-beam operation 1100 shown in FIG. 11 is for illustration only.

In another example illustrated in FIG. 11 (embodiment B-2), an ULmulti-beam operation 1100 starts with the gNB/NW signaling to a UE anaperiodic SRS (AP-SRS) trigger or request (step 1101). This trigger canbe included in a DCI format, such as a DCI format scheduling a PDSCHreception or a PUSCH transmission. Upon receiving and decoding the DCIformat with the AP-SRS trigger (step 1102), the UE transmits AP-SRS tothe gNB/NW (step 1103) so that the NW (or gNB) can measure the ULpropagation channel and select an UL TX beam for the UE.

The gNB/NW can then indicate the UL TX beam selection (step 1104) usinga value of the TCI-state field in the DCI format. In this case, theUL-TCI indicates a reference RS, such as an AP-SRS, representing theselected UL TX beam. In addition, the TCI-state can also indicate a“target” RS, such as a SRS, that is linked to the reference RS, such asan AP-SRS. Upon successfully decoding the DCI format providing a valuefor the TCI-state, the UE transmits, for example a PUSCH or a PUCCH,using the UL TX beam indicated by the TCI-state (step 1105).

Alternatively, a gNB/NW can indicate the UL TX beam selection (step1104) to the UE using a value of a TCI-state field in a purpose-designedDL channel for beam indication. A purpose-designed DL channel for beamindication can be UE-specific or for a group of UEs. For example, aUE-specific DL channel can be a PDCCH that a UE receives according to aUSS while a UE-group common DL channel can be a PDCCH that a UE receivesaccording to a CSS. In this case, the UL-TCI indicates a reference RS,such as an AP-SRS, representing the selected UL TX beam. In addition,the TCI-state can also indicate a “target” RS, such as a SRS, that islinked to the reference RS, such as an AP-SRS. Upon successfullydecoding a purpose-designed DL channel for beam indication through avalue of the TCI-state field, the UE transmits, such as a PUSCH or aPUCCH, using the UL TX beam indicated by the value of the TCI-state(step 1105).

For this embodiment (B-2), as described above, the UE selects the UL TXbeam from the reference RS (in this case SRS) index signaled via thevalue of the TCI-state field.

FIG. 12 illustrates an example multi-path environment 1200 with 2 RFpaths 1200 according to embodiments of the present disclosure. Anembodiment of the multi-path environment 1200 with 2 RF paths shown inFIG. 12 is for illustration only.

In a wireless communications system, under certain scenarios, more thanone RF path can exist between a network and a UE. Such scenarios canarise due to the dispersive nature of the RF channel, or in a systemusing multi-TRP and/or multi-panel transmissions. In such scenarios, thenetwork can exploit the multi-path environment to enhance the capacitybetween the network and the UE by transmitting a channel, such as aPDSCH, on multiple layers, wherein one or more layers are transmitted ina multi-path. FIG. 12 is an illustration of a multi-path environment1200 with 2 RF paths 1201 and 1202 between a gNB and a UE.

As illustrated in FIG. 12 , a gNB transmits and a UE receives a downlinkdata channel, such a PDSCH for 5G NR, on two layers wherein each layeris transmitted on a TX beam and received on a RX beam. Associated withthe data channel (i.e., PDSCH) is a control channel (i.e., PDCCH for 5GNR). The control channel can be transmitted by the gNB on a single TXbeam and received by the UE on a single RX beam. The TX beam of thecontrol channels can be one of the TX beams for data channel and can beconfigured by the network using higher layer signaling, such as RRCsignaling, and/or updated by the network using Layer 1 control signalingand/or a MAC CE.

In one embodiment, a beam indication in a multi-beam-channel fordownlink data channels is provided. In such embodiment, a downlink datachannel can be a PDSCH channel.

In one example 1.1, all the layers of the downlink data channel can beassigned a same TX beam. There is one TCI state for the downlink datachannel.

In another example 1.2, each layer of a data channel can be assigned alayer-specific TX beam. In one option, one TCI state for each layer ofthe downlink data channel is associated with one TX beam.

In another example 1.2a, each antenna port of the DMRS of a data channelcan be assigned a port-specific TX beam. In one option, one TCI statefor each antenna port of the DMRS of the downlink data channel isassociated with one TX beam.

In another example 1.3, a sub-set of “N” layers of a data channel can beassigned a TX beam. There is one TCI state for each “N” layers of thedownlink data channel. “N” can be provided by higher layers, such as byRRC configuration. Alternatively, or additionally, “N” can beupdated/indicated by a MAC CE and/or by L1 control signaling, or “N” canbe specified in the system operation. The N layer indices on a TX beamcan be specified, for example the indices can be consecutive, or can beindicated by RRC or/and MAC CE or/and DCI signaling either jointly orseparately with the sub-set of “N” layers. For example, a value of N canbe specified to be 2 and a TX beam corresponds to one CSI-RS resourcewith 2 antenna ports.

In another example 1.3a, a sub-set of “N” antenna ports of the DMRS of adata channel can be assigned a TX beam. There is one TCI state for each“N” antenna ports of the DMRS of the downlink data channel. “N” can beprovided by higher layers, such as by RRC configuration. Alternatively,or additionally, “N” can be updated/indicated by a MAC CE and/or by L1control signaling, or “N” can be specified in the system operation. TheN antenna port indices on a TX beam can be specified, for example theindices can be consecutive, or can be indicated by RRC or/and MAC CEor/and DCI signaling either jointly or separately with the sub-set of“N” antenna ports. For example, a value of N can be specified to be 2and a TX beam corresponds to one CSI-RS resource with 2 antenna ports.

In another example 1.4, the DL data channel is transmitted via multiple,such as 2, codewords and each codeword is assigned a TX beam. The layersof a first codeword are on a first TX beam while the layers of a secondcodeword are on a second TX beam. There is a first TCI state for a firstcodeword and a second TCI state for a second codeword.

In another example 1.5, operation following one of the examples of 1.1to 1.4 can be indicated by RRC configuration. Alternatively, oradditionally, operation following one of the examples of 1.1 to 1.4 canbe updated by a MAC CE and/or L1 control signaling based on an RRCconfiguration (RRC configured values) or based on a specifiedconfiguration (system specified values).

In one example, a layer of the DL data channel can be associated with aDMRS port or/and a PDSCH port.

For the above embodiments, a TX beam can correspond to a reference orsource RS resource, such as CSI-RS resource, SRS resource, SSB resource,or DMRS resource. Correspondence implies a quasi-colocation (QCL)relationship. The reference RS resource can include or be derived from aresource index.

The TCI state for the downlink data channel can be updated via a MAC CEor by L1 control signaling, or by a combination of the two, and can bereferred to as beam indication signaling.

In another example 1.6, a UE can be configured to receive multiplelayers of the DL transmission. In one example, the number of layers canat most be 2 or 4. For illustration, in the following examples, thenumber of layers is assumed to be at most 2. In one example, a layercorresponds to a PDSCH port.

In one example 1.6.1, a UE can receive on one or two PDSCH ports(layers) using a same beam (indicated via a single TCI state). The gNBcan configure/update to the UE through RRC signaling and/or MAC CEsignaling and/or L1 control signaling the number of PDSCH ports (i.e.,layers) on one beam.

In another example 1.6.2, a UE can receive on one port (layer) using afirst beam. The UE can receive a second layer using a second beam. Thefirst beam is indicated via a TCI state indication, and the second beamis determined by the UE.

If a UE is configured to receive on two layers and a UE is configured toreceive on one layer per beam, a UE can receive each layer on a separatebeam. A UE can be signaled a first TCI state for a first beam in a beamindication message for reception of the first layer of a PDSCH channel(DL data channel). A UE can determine a second beam for reception of asecond layer of a PDSCH channel according to the following instances.

In one instance, a UE reports beam reports comprising CRI (or SSBRI) andL1-RSPR/L1-SINR corresponding multiple CSI-RSs (or SSB). If theindicated TCI state associated with the first layer of PDSCH correspondsto the CRI (or SSBRI) with the m-th highest L1-RSRP/L1-SINR, the UEassumes that the second TCI state (associated with the 2nd RX beam)corresponds to the CRI with the (m+1)-th highest L1-RSRP/L1-SINR. In oneexample, m=1.

In another instance, if the indicated TCI state associated with thefirst layer of PDSCH corresponds to the CRI with the m-th highestL1-RSRP/L1-SINR and m #1, the UE assumes that the second TCI state(associated with the 2nd RX beam) corresponds to the CRI with thehighest L1-RSRP/L1-SINR (i.e., m=1).

In yet another instance, a second TCI state is configured/updated for asecond beam of a second layer through RRC signaling and/or MAC-CEsignaling, where the update rate for the second TCI state can be slowerthan the update rate for the first TCI state.

In yet another instance, a UE performs blind decoding to determine asecond TCI state for a second beam to receive a second layer either. Theset of candidate TCI states for the second layer can be fixed/specifiedin the system operation or configured (via RRC or/and MAC CE or/andDCI).

In yet another instance, a gNB configures/updates an association betweena first TCI state for a first beam and a second TCI state for a secondbeam to a UE through RRC signaling and/or MAC CE signaling and/or L1control signaling. When the first TCI state is signaled for a receptionof a first layer of PDSCH, the associated second TCI state is used forthe reception of the second layer of PDSCH.

In yet another instance, a UE recommends an association between a firstTCI state for a first beam and a second TCI state for a second beam tothe gNB through CSI (beam) report. When the first TCI state is signaledfor a reception of a first layer of PDSCH, the associated second TCIstate is used for the reception of the second layer of PDSCH.

In yet another instance, more than one instance can be specified in thesystem operation, the gNB configures/updates to the UE through RRCsignaling and/or MAC CE signaling and/or L1 control signaling theinstance to use for the reception of the layers of PDSCH.

In one embodiment, a beam indication in a multi-beam-channel fordownlink control channels. In such embodiment, a downlink controlchannel can be a PDCCH channel.

In one example 2.1 and following example 1.1, the TCI state of thedownlink control channel can follow the TCI state of the downlink datachannel.

In another example 2.2 and following example 1.2, in example 2.2.1, theTCI state of the downlink control channel follows the TCI state of afixed/specified, such as a first, layer of a downlink data channel.

In one example 2.2.1a, the TCI state of the downlink control channel isdetermined based on a fixed/specified rule. In one example, the rule isbased on the TCI state ID. For example, the TCI state is the one withthe lowest TCI state ID.

In another example 2.2.2, the TCI state of the downlink control channelfollows the TCI state of a layer of the downlink data channel, whereinthe index of the layer of the downlink data channel is configuredthrough RRC signaling, and/or MAC CE signaling, and/or L1 controlsignaling. In one example, the index of the layer of the downlink datachannel with a TCI state used for the downlink control channel isprovided in the beam indication message or in the DCI format schedulingthe reception of the downlink data channel. An example is illustrated inFIG. 13 .

FIG. 13 illustrates an example TCI-state configuration 1300 according toembodiments of the present disclosure. An embodiment of the TCI-stateconfiguration 1300 shown in FIG. 13 is for illustration only.

In another example 2.2.2a, the TCI state of the downlink control channelfollows the TCI state of a layer of downlink data channel, wherein theindex of the layer of the downlink data channel is determined based on areport from the UE, such as based on at least one beam report.

In another example 2.2.3, the downlink control channel is assigned andhence transmitted on all the TX beams (TCI states) of the downlink datachannel, for example, for repetition gain or spatial diversity.

In another example 2.2.4, the downlink control channel is assigned andhence transmitted on a subset of the TX beams (TCI states) of thedownlink data channel for spatial diversity. The subset of TX beams (TCIstates) can be configured through RRC signaling, and/or MAC CEsignaling, and/or L1 control signaling such as for example by a UE-groupcommon PDCCH. In one example, the subset of TX beams (TCI states) isprovided in the beam indication message or in the DCI format schedulingthe reception of the downlink data channel. In one example, the subsetof TX beams (TCI states) is fixed/specified, for example to 2.

In another example 2.2a and following example 1.2a, in example 2.2a.1,the TCI state of the downlink control channel follows the TCI state of afixed/specified, such as a first, antenna port of the DMRS of a downlinkdata channel.

In another example 2.3 and following example 1.3, in one example 2.3.1,the TCI state of the downlink control channel follows the TCI state of afirst group/sub-set of “N” layers of a downlink data channel.

In another example 2.3.2, the TCI state of the downlink control channelfollows the TCI state of a group/sub-set of “N” layers of downlink datachannel, wherein the index of the group of “N” layers of the downlinkdata channel is configured through RRC signaling, and/or MAC CE, and/orL1 control signaling. In one example, the index of the group of “N”layers of the downlink data channel with a TCI state used for thedownlink control channel is provided in the beam indication message orin the DCI format scheduling the reception of the downlink data channel.An example is illustrated in FIG. 14 . In one example, “N” or/and theindex of the group “N” layers is(are) fixed/specified in the systemoperation.

FIG. 14 illustrates another example TCI-state configuration 1400according to embodiments of the present disclosure. An embodiment of theTCI-state configuration 1400 shown in FIG. 14 is for illustration only.

In another example 2.3.3, the downlink control channel is assigned andhence transmitted on all the TX beams (TCI states) of the downlink datachannel for spatial diversity.

In another example 2.3.4, the downlink control channel is assigned andhence transmitted on a subset of the TX beams (TCI states) of thedownlink data channel for spatial diversity. The subset of TX beams (TCIstates) can be configured through RRC signaling, and/or MAC CEsignaling, and/or L1 control signaling. In one example, the subset of TXbeams (TCI states) is provided in the beam indication message or in theDCI format scheduling the reception of the downlink data channel.

In another example 2.3a and following example 1.3a, in one example2.3a.1, the TCI state of the downlink control channel follows the TCIstate of a first group/sub-set of “N” antenna ports of the DMRS of adownlink data channel.

In another example 2.4 and following example 1.4, in one example 2.4.1,the TCI state of the downlink control channel, follows the TCI state ofa first codeword of a downlink data channel.

In another example 2.4.2, the TCI state of the downlink control channelfollows the TCI state of a codeword of downlink data channel, whereinthe index of the codeword of the downlink data channel is configuredthrough RRC signaling, and/or MAC CE signaling, and/or L1 controlsignaling. In one example, the index of the codeword of the downlinkdata channel with a TCI state used for the downlink control channel isprovided in the beam indication message or the DCI format scheduling thedownlink data channel reception. An example is illustrated in FIG. 15 .

FIG. 15 illustrates yet another example TCI-state configuration 1500according to embodiments of the present disclosure. An embodiment of theTCI-state configuration 1500 shown in FIG. 15 is for illustration only.

In another example 2.4.3, the downlink control channel is assigned andhence transmitted on all the TX beams (TCI states) of the downlink datachannel for spatial diversity.

In another example 2.4.4, the downlink control channel is assigned andhence transmitted on a subset of the TX beams (TCI states) of thedownlink data channel for spatial diversity. The subset of TX beams (TCIstates) can be configured through RRC signaling, and/or MAC CEsignaling, and/or L1 control signaling. In one example, the subset of TXbeams (TCI states) is provided in the beam indication message or the DCIformat scheduling the reception of the downlink data channel.

In another example 2.5 and following example 1.5, operation followingone of the examples of 2.1 to 2.4 can be configured by RRC signaling.Alternatively, or additionally, operation following one of the examplesof 2.1 to 2.4 can be updated by a MAC CE and/or L1 control signaling.

In another example 2.6, the TX beam(s) (TCI state) of the downlinkcontrol channel follows the TX beam(s) (TCI state or spatial relation)of the uplink control channel as determined in the embodiment mentionedin the present disclosure.

In another example 2.7, a CORESET can be configured with multiple TCIstates that indicate corresponding QCL assumptions for receptions of DLcontrol channels.

In another example 2.8, a search space IE can be configured with/mappedto one or more CORESETs, where a CORESET can have one or more TCIstates. Wherein, the one or more TCI states are determined based on theTCI states of the layers/groups of layers/codewords/antenna ports of adownlink data channel.

In another example 2.9, a UE is not indicated or signaled a TCI statefor reception of a DL control channel, from the set of TCI statesconfigured and indicated for the DL data channel. Instead, the UE canperform multiple receiver processing functionalities, such as receptionof a DL control channel and decoding of a DCI format provided by the DLcontrol channel, with different TCI state assumptions based on the TCIstates configured and indicated for the DL data channel.

In one example 2.9.1, a CORESET can be configured with multiple TCIstates, from a set of TCI states configured and indicated for thedownlink data channel.

In another example 2.9.2, a Search Space IE can be configured withmultiple CORESETs, where a CORESET can have multiple TCI states. Themultiple TCI states are determined based of the TCI states configuredand indicated for the DL data channel.

In another example 2.9.3, a UE is configured with multiple search spacesets, and a search space set is associated with/mapped to a CORESET thatcan have multiple TCI states. The multiple TCI states are determinedfrom a set of TCI states configured and indicated the DL data channel.

For the above embodiments, a TX beam can correspond to a reference orsource RS resource, such as CSI-RS resource, SRS resource, SSB resource,or DMRS resource, where correspondence implies a QCL relationship. Thereference RS resource can include or be derived from a resource index.In the above example embodiments, the TCI state of the downlink controlchannel is updated together with the associated TCI state for thedownlink data channel. That is, the TCI state signaling in examples 1.1to example 1.6.2 corresponds to both downlink data and control channelsand the updated TCI state of the downlink control channel is related tothat for the downlink data channel.

In another example 2.10 and following example 1.6, a UE can beconfigured to receive multiple layers of the DL transmission. In oneexample, the number of layers can at most be 2 or 4. For illustration,in the following examples, the number of layers is assumed to be at most2. In one example, a layer corresponds to a PDSCH DMRS antenna port.PDCCH can be received on a single layer.

If a UE is configured to receive PDSCH on two layers, and a UE isconfigured to receive on one layer per beam, and a UE is indicated onebeam for PDSCH, a UE can determine a beam for the reception of PDCCHaccording to the following instances.

In one instance, the indicated TCI state for PDSCH determines the beamused for reception of PDCCH.

In another instance, a determined TCI state for PDSCH associated thehighest L1-RSRP/L1-SINR determines the beam used for reception of PDCCH.

In yet another instance, a gNB configures/updates to the UE through RRCsignaling and/or MAC-CE signaling, the PDSCH layer index whose TCI stateis followed for PDCCH reception.

In yet another instance, a UE performs blind decoding to determine a TCIstate for reception of PDCCH out of the two TCI states used for PDSCHreception.

In yet another instance, a UE receives PDCCH on two beams, for spatialdiversity, following the two TCI states of PDSCH.

In yet another instance, more than one instance can be specified in thesystem operation, the gNB configures/updates to the UE through RRCsignaling and/or MAC CE signaling and/or L1 control signaling theinstance to use for the reception of PDCCH.

In one embodiment, a beam indication in a multi-beam-channel for uplinkdata channels is provided. In such embodiment, an uplink data channelcan be a PUSCH channel.

In one example 3.1, all layers of the uplink data channel is assigned asame TX beam. There is one TCI state or spatial relation for the uplinkdata channel.

In another example 3.2, each layer of the uplink data channel has alayer-specific TX beam. There is one TCI state or spatial relation foreach layer of the uplink data channel.

In another example 3.2a, each antenna port of a DMRS of the uplink datachannel has an antenna-port-specific TX beam. There is one TCI state orspatial relation for each antenna port of the DMRS of the uplink datachannel.

In another example 3.3, each sub-set of “N” layers of an uplink datachannel are on a TX beam. There is one TCI state or spatial relation foreach sub-set of “N” layers of the uplink data channel. The sub-set of“N” layers can be configured by RRC signaling. Alternatively, oradditionally, the sub-set of “N” layers can be updated by a MAC CEand/or L1 control signaling or can be fixed/specified in the systemoperation. The N layer indices on a TX beam can be fixed/specified, suchas consecutive layer indices, or can be configured (by RRC or/and MAC CEor/and DCI/L1 control signaling) either jointly with or separately fromthe sub-set of “N” layers.

In another example 3.3 a, each sub-set of “N” antenna ports of a DMRS ofan uplink data channel are on a TX beam. There is one TCI state orspatial relation for each sub-set of “N” antenna ports of the DMRS ofthe uplink data channel. The sub-set of “N” antenna ports can beconfigured by RRC signaling. Alternatively, or additionally, the sub-setof “N” antenna ports can be updated by a MAC CE and/or L1 controlsignaling or can be fixed/specified in the system operation. The Nantenna port indices on a TX beam can be fixed/specified, such asconsecutive antenna indices, or can be configured (by RRC or/and MAC CEor/and DCI/L1 control signaling) either jointly with or separately fromthe sub-set of “N” antenna ports.

In another example 3.4, the UL data channel is transmitted via multiple(e.g., 2) codewords, and each codeword is on a TX beam. The layers of afirst codeword are on a first TX beam while the layers of a secondcodeword are on a second TX beam. There is a first TCI state or spatialrelation for a first codeword and a second TCI state or spatial relationfor a second codeword.

In another example 3.5, operation following one of the examples of 3.1to 3.4 can be configured by RRC configuration, alternatively, oradditionally, operation following one of the examples of 3.1 to 3.4 canbe dynamically updated by a MAC CE and/or L1 control signaling. In oneexample, a layer of the UL data channel can be associated with a DMRSport or/and a PUSCH port.

In another example 3.6, a UE can determine an uplink TX spatial filterfor transmission of an uplink channel on a beam based on a downlink RXspatial filter for reception of a downlink channel on the beam.Following the examples of example 1.1 to example 1.6.2, the uplink datachannels can be transmitted on one or more Tx beams.

In one example 3.6.1, a UE transmits the uplink channel on a single TXbeam. In one option, the index of the TCI state or spatial relation ofthe UL TX beam is based on a fixed/specified mapping to TCI states ofthe downlink data channel, such as the TCI state of the firstlayer/group of layers/codeword/antenna ports of the downlink datachannel. Alternatively, the index of the TCI state or spatial relationof the TX beam is configured to be the index of the TCI state of one ofthe layers/groups of layers/codewords/antenna ports of the downlink datachannel. The configuration can be through RRC, and/or MAC CE, and/or L1control signaling.

In another example 3.6.2, a UE transmits the uplink channel on all beamsof the downlink channel. In one option, the TCI state or spatialrelation of an uplink TX beam is based on a fixed mapping between the ULlayers/groups of layers/codewords/antenna ports and the downlinklayers/groups of layers/codewords/antenna ports. For example, if theuplink channel is transmitted on 2 layers and the downlink channel istransmitted on 4 layers and 2 beams are configured, downlink layers 0and 1 and uplink layer 0 are assigned to a first beam, and downlinklayers 2 and 3 and uplink layer 1 are assigned to a second beam. This isillustrated by way of example in TABLE 1.

TABLE 1 Mapping all TCI states to layers of a downlink channel and tolayers of an uplink channel. Beam (based on TCI or spatial relation) DLLayer UL Layer TCI State 0 DL Layer 0 UL Layer 0 DL Layer 1 TCI State 1DL Layer 2 UL Layer 1 DL Layer 3

Alternatively, the TCI state or spatial relation of an uplink TX beam isbased on a configuration that maps the UL layers/groups oflayers/codewords/antenna ports and the downlink layers/groups oflayers/codewords/antenna ports. The configuration can be through RRC,and/or MAC CE, and/or L1 control signaling.

In another example 3.6.3, a UE transmits the uplink channel on a subsetof the beams of the downlink channel. In one option, the TCI state orspatial relation of an uplink TX beam is based on a fixed/specifiedmapping between the UL layers/groups of layers/codewords/antenna portsand a subset of the downlink layers/groups of layers/codewords/antennaports. For example, if the uplink channel is transmitted on 2 layers andthe downlink channel is transmitted on 4 layers and 4 beams areconfigured, downlink layer 0 and uplink layer 0 are assigned to a firstbeam, and downlink layer 1 and uplink layer 1 are assigned to a secondbeam. The remaining two downlink layers are assigned respectively to athird and fourth beams. This is illustrated by way of example in TABLE2.

TABLE 2 Mapping all TCI states to layers of a downlink channel and asubset of TCI states to layers of an uplink channel. Beam (based on TCIor spatial relation) DL Layer UL Layer TCI State 0 DL Layer 0 UL Layer 0TCI State 1 DL Layer 1 UL Layer 1 TCI State 2 DL Layer 2 TCI State 3 DLLayer 3

Alternatively, the TCI state or spatial relation of an uplink TX beam isbased on a configuration that maps the UL layers/groups oflayers/codewords/antenna ports and a subset of the downlinklayers/groups of layers/codewords/antenna ports. The configuration canbe through RRC, and/or MAC CE, and/or L1 control signaling.

In another example 3.6.4, a UE transmits the uplink channel on asuperset of the beams of the downlink channel. In one option, the TCIstate or spatial relation of an uplink TX beam is based on afixed/specified mapping between a subset of the UL layers/groups oflayers/codewords/antenna ports and the downlink layers/groups oflayers/codewords/antenna ports. Additional UL layers/groups oflayers/codewords/antenna ports not in the subset are configured a TCIstate or spatial relation. For example, if the uplink channel istransmitted on 4 layers and the downlink channel is transmitted on 4layers, and 2 beams are configured for the downlink channel such that,downlink layer 0 and 1 and uplink layer 0 are assigned to a first beam,and downlink layer 2 and 3 and uplink layer 1 are assigned to a secondbeam. The remaining two uplink layers are configured and assignedrespectively to a third and fourth beam. This is illustrated by way ofexample in TABLE 3.

TABLE 3 Mapping a sub-set of TCI states to layers of a downlink channeland all TCI states to layers of an uplink channel. Beam (based on TCI orspatial relation) DL Layer UL Layer TCI State 0 DL Layer 0 and Layer 1UL Layer 0 TCI State 1 DL Layer 2 and Layer 3 UL Layer 1 TCI State 2 ULLayer 2 TCI State 3 UL Layer 3

Alternatively, the TCI state or spatial relation of an uplink TX beam isbased on a configuration that maps a subset of the UL layers/groups oflayers/codewords/antenna ports and the downlink layers/groups oflayers/codewords/antenna ports. Additional UL layers/groups oflayers/codewords/antenna ports not in the subset are configured a TCIstate or spatial relation through RRC, and/or MAC CE signaling, and/orL1 control signaling.

For the above embodiments, a TX beam can correspond to a reference orsource RS resource, such as CSI-RS resource, SRS resource, SSB resource,or DMRS resource. Correspondence implies a QCL relationship. Thereference RS resource can include or be derived from a resource index.

In another example 3.7, a UE can be configured to transmit multiplelayers of the UL transmission. In one example, the number of layers canat most be 2 or 4. For illustration, in the following examples, thenumber of layers is assumed to be at most 2. In one example, a layercorresponds to a PUSCH port.

In one example 3.7.1, a UE, can transmit on one or two PUSCH ports(layers) using a same beam (indicated via a single TCI state/spatialrelation). The gNB can configure/update to the UE through RRC signalingand/or MAC CE signaling and/or L1 control signaling the number of PUSCHports (i.e., layers) on one beam.

In another example 3.7.2, a UE, can transmit on one port (layer) using afirst beam. The UE can transmit a second layer on a second beam. Thefirst beam is indicated via a TCI state indication, and the second beamis determined by the UE.

If a UE is configured to transmit on two layers and a UE is configuredto transmit on one layer per beam, a UE can transmit each layer on aseparate beam. A UE can be signaled a first TCI state/spatial relationfor a first beam in a beam indication message for transmission of thefirst layer of a PUSCH channel (UL data channel). A UE can determine asecond beam for transmission of a second layer for layer of a PUSCHchannel according to the following instances.

In one instance, a UE reports beam reports comprising CRI (or SSBRI) andL1-RSPR/L1-SINR corresponding multiple CSI-RSs (or SSB). If theindicated TCI state/spatial relation is associated with the first layerof PUSCH corresponds to the CRI (or SSBRI) with the m-th highestL1-RSRP/L1-SINR, the UE assumes that the second TCI state/spatialrelation (associated with the 2nd TX beam) corresponds to the CRI withthe (m+1)-th highest L1-RSRP/L1-SINR. In one example, m=1

In another instance, if the indicated TCI state/spatial relationassociated with the first layer of PUSCH corresponds to the CRI with them-th highest L1-RSRP/L1-SINR and m #1, the UE assumes that the secondTCI state/spatial relation (associated with the 2nd TX beam) correspondsto the CRI with the highest L1-RSRP/L1-SINR (i.e., m=1).

In yet another instance, a second TCI state/spatial relation isconfigured/updated for a second beam of a second layer through RRCsignaling and/or MAC-CE signaling, where the update rate for the secondTCI state/spatial relation can be slower than the update rate for thefirst TCI state/spatial relation.

In yet another instance, a second TCI state/spatial relation is selectedfor a second beam to transmit a second layer. A gNB determines thesecond TCI state/spatial relation for a second layer of PUSCH throughblind decoding. The set of candidate TCI states for the second layer canbe fixed/specified in the system operation or configured (via RRC or/andMAC CE or/and DCI/L1 control signaling).

In yet another instance, a gNB configures/updates an association betweena first TCI state/spatial relation for a first beam and a second TCIstate/spatial relation for a second beam to a UE through RRC signalingand/or MAC CE signaling and/or L1 control signaling. When the first TCIstate/spatial relation is signaled for a transmission of a first layerof PUSCH, the associated second TCI state/spatial relation is used forthe transmission of the second layer of PUSCH.

In yet another instance, a gNB configures/updates an association betweena first TCI state/spatial relation for a first beam and a second TCIstate/spatial relation for a second beam to a UE through RRC signalingand/or MAC CE signaling and/or L1 control signaling. When the first TCIstate/spatial relation is signaled for a transmission of a first layerof PUSCH, the associated second TCI state/spatial relation is used forthe transmission of the second layer of PUSCH.

In yet another instance, more than one instance can be specified in thesystem operation, the gNB configures/updates to the UE through RRCsignaling and/or MAC CE signaling and/or L1 control signaling theinstance to use for the transmission of the layers of PUSCH. Either acommon scheme can be used for PDSCH reception and PUSCH transmissions orseparate schemes.

In one embodiment, a beam indication in a multi-beam-channel for uplinkcontrol channels is provided. In such embodiment, an uplink controlchannel can be a PUCCH channel.

In one example 4.1, and following example 3.1, the TCI state or spatialrelation of the uplink control channel can follow the TCI state orspatial relation of the uplink data channel.

In another example 4.2 and following example 3.2, in one example 4.2.1,the TCI state or spatial relation of the uplink control channel, followsthe TCI state or spatial relation of a fixed/specified layer, such as afirst layer, of an uplink data channel.

In one example 4.2.1a, the TCI state of the uplink control channel isdetermined based on a fixed/specified rule. In one example, the rule isbased on the TCI state ID or spatial relation such as the lowest TCIstate ID.

In another example 4.2.2, the TCI state or spatial relation of theuplink control channel follows the TCI state or spatial relation of alayer of an uplink data channel, wherein the index of the layer of theuplink data channel is configured through RRC, and/or MAC CE, and/or L1control signaling. In one example, the index of the layer of the uplinkdata channel with a TCI state or spatial relation used for the uplinkcontrol channel is provided in the beam indication message or by a DCIformat scheduling a transmission of the uplink data channel. An exampleis illustrated in FIG. 16 .

FIG. 16 illustrates yet another example TCI-state configuration 1600according to embodiments of the present disclosure. An embodiment of theTCI-state configuration 1600 shown in FIG. 16 is for illustration only.

In another example 4.2.2a, the TCI state of the uplink control channelfollows the TCI state or spatial relation of a layer of uplink datachannel, wherein the index of the layer of the uplink data channel isdetermined based on a UE report, such as at least one beam report.

In another example 4.2.3, the uplink control channel is assigned andhence transmitted on all the TX beams (TCI states or spatial relations)of the uplink data channel for example for repetition gain or spatialdiversity.

In another example 4.2.4, the uplink control channel is assigned andhence transmitted on a subset of the TX beams (TCI states or spatialrelations) of the uplink data channel for example for repetition gain orspatial diversity. The subset of TX beams (TCI states or spatialrelations) can be configured through RRC, and/or MAC CE, and/or L1control signaling. In one example, the subset of TX beams (TCI states orspatial relations) is provided in the beam indication message or by theDCI format scheduling the uplink data channel transmission. In oneexample, the subset of TX beams (TCI states or spatial relation) isfixed/specified, for example to 2.

In another example 4.2a and following example 3.2a, in one example4.2a.1, the TCI state or spatial relation of the uplink control channel,follows the TCI state or spatial relation of a fixed/specified antennaport, such as a first antenna port of the DMRS of an uplink datachannel.

In another example 4.3 and following example 3.3, the followingsub-examples can be further considered. In one example 4.3.1, the TCIstate or spatial relation of the uplink control channel follows the TCIstate or spatial relation of a first group of “N” layers of an uplinkdata channel.

In another example 4.3.2, the TCI state or spatial relation of theuplink control channel follows the TCI state or spatial relation of agroup of “N” layers of uplink data channel, wherein the index of thegroup of “N” layers of the uplink data channel is configured throughRRC, and/or MAC CE, and/or L1 control signaling. In one example, theindex of the group of “N” layers of the uplink data channel with a TCIstate or spatial relation used for the uplink control channel isprovided in the beam indication message or the DCI format scheduling thetransmission of the uplink data channel. An example is illustrated inFIG. 17 . In one example, “N” or/and the index of the group “N” layersis(are) fixed/specified in the system operation.

FIG. 17 illustrates yet another example TCI-state configuration 1700according to embodiments of the present disclosure. An embodiment of theTCI-state configuration 1700 shown in FIG. 17 is for illustration only.

In another example 4.3.3, the uplink control channel is assigned andhence transmitted on all the TX beams (TCI states or spatial relation)of the uplink data channel for spatial diversity.

In another example 4.3.4, the uplink control channel is assigned andhence transmitted on a subset of the TX beams (TCI states or spatialrelations) of the uplink data channel for spatial diversity, wherein thesubset of TX beams (TCI states or spatial relations) can be configuredthrough RRC, and/or MAC CE, and/or L1 control signaling. In one example,the subset of TX beams (TCI states or spatial relations) is provided inthe beam indication message or by the DCI format scheduling thetransmission of the uplink data channel.

In another example 4.3a and following example 3.3a, the followingsub-examples can be further considered. In one example 4.3a.1, the TCIstate or spatial relation of the uplink control channel follows the TCIstate or spatial relation of a first group of “N” antenna ports of theDMRS of an uplink data channel.

In another example 4.4 and following example 3.4, in one example 4.4.1,the TCI state or spatial relation of the uplink control channel followsthe TCI state or spatial relation of a first codeword of an uplink datachannel.

In another example 4.4.2, the TCI state or spatial relation of theuplink control channel follows the TCI state or spatial relation of acodeword of uplink data channel, wherein the index of the codeword ofthe uplink data channel is configured by RRC, and/or MAC CE, and/or L1control signaling. In one example, the index of the codeword of theuplink data channel whose TCI state or spatial relation is to be usedfor the uplink control channel is provided in the beam indicationmessage or by the DCI format scheduling the uplink data channeltransmission. An example is illustrated in FIG. 18 .

FIG. 18 illustrates yet another example TCI-state configuration 1800according to embodiments of the present disclosure. An embodiment of theTCI-state configuration 1800 shown in FIG. 18 is for illustration only.

In another example 4.4.3, the uplink control channel is transmitted onall the TX beams (TCI states or spatial relations) of the uplink datachannel for spatial diversity.

In another example 4.4.4, the uplink control channel is transmitted on asubset of the TX beams (TCI states or spatial relations) of the uplinkdata channel for spatial diversity, wherein the subset of TX beams (TCIstates or spatial relations) can be configured through RRC, and/or MACCE, and/or L1 control signaling. In one example, the subset of TX beams(TCI states or spatial relations) is provided in the beam indicationmessage or by the DCI format scheduling the uplink data channeltransmission.

In another example 4.5 and following example 3.5, an operation followingone of the examples of 4.1 to 4.4 can be configured by RRC signaling.Alternatively, or additionally, operation following one of the examplesof 4.1 to 4.4 can be updated by a MAC CE and/or L1 control signaling.

In another example 4.6 and following the examples 4.1 to 4.5 and theexamples of example 1.1 to example 1.6.2, the TX beam(s) (TCI state orspatial relation) of the uplink control channel is determined based onthe TX beam(s) (TCI state) of the downlink data channel.

In another example 4.7, the TX beam(s) (TCI state or spatial relation)of the uplink control channel follows the TX beam(s) (TCI state) of thedownlink control channel as determined in examples 2.1 to 2.10.

In another example 4.8, a UE is not indicated or signaled a TCI state orspatial relation for the UL control channel from the set of TCI statesor spatial relations configured and indicated for the UL or DL datachannel. The UE determines a preferred TCI state or spatial relation fortransmission from the set of TCI states or spatial relations configuredand indicated for the UL or DL data channel. The gNB can performmultiple receiver processing functionalities, such as multiplereceptions and decoding of DL control channels, with different TCI stateor spatial relation assumptions based on the TCI states or spatialrelations configured and indicated for the UL or DL data channel.

In another example 4.9, for an uplink control channel transmissiontriggered by a DCI format, the TX beam(s) (TCI state or spatialrelation) of the uplink control channel is indicated by a field in theDCI format.

In another example 4.10, a configuration of each resource in set ofresources for an uplink control channel transmission includes a TCIstate or spatial relation. For an uplink control channel transmissiontriggered by a DCI format, the TX beam(s) (TCI state or spatialrelation) of the uplink control channel is indicated through theindication of a resource used for the uplink control channeltransmission. Wherein the TCI state or spatial relation of an uplinkcontrol channel resource is determined by a TCI state of a layer/groupof layers/codeword/antenna port of a downlink or an uplink data channel.

For the above embodiments, a TX beam can correspond to a reference orsource RS resource, such as CSI-RS resource, SRS resource, SSB resource,or DMRS resource. Correspondence implies a QCL relationship. Thereference RS resource therein can include or be derived from a resourceindex.

In another example 4.11 and following example 1.6, a UE can beconfigured to transmit/receive on multiple layers of UL/DLtransmissions. In one example, the number of layers can at most be 2 or4. For illustration, in the following examples, the number of layers isassumed to be at most 2. In one example, a layer corresponds to a PDSCHport. PUCCH can be transmitted on a single layer.

If a UE is configured to receive PDSCH on two layers, and a UE isconfigured to transmit/receive on one layer per beam, and a UE isindicated one beam for PDSCH, a UE can determine a beam for thetransmission of PUCCH according to the following instances.

In one instance, the indicated TCI state for PDSCH determines the beamused for transmission of PUCCH.

In another instance, a determined TCI state for PDSCH associated thehighest L1-RSRP/L1-SINR determines the beam used for transmission ofPUCCH.

In yet another instance, a gNB configures/updates to the UE through RRCsignaling and/or MAC-CE signaling, the PDSCH layer index whose TCI stateis followed for PUCCH transmission.

In yet another instance, a UE selects a TCI state for transmission ofPUCCH out of the two TCI states used for PDSCH reception. A gNBdetermines the PUCCH TCI state through blind decoding.

In yet another instance, a UE determines a TCI state for transmission ofPUCCH based on the TCI state used for the reception of PDCCH.

In yet another instance, a UE transmits PUCCH on two beams, for spatialdiversity, following the two TCI states of PDSCH.

In yet another instance, more than one instance can be specified in thesystem operation, the gNB configures/updates to the UE through RRCsignaling and/or MAC CE signaling and/or L1 control signaling theinstance to use for the transmission of PUCCH.

In another example 4.12 and following example 3.7, a UE can beconfigured to transmit on multiple layers of UL transmissions. In oneexample, the number of layers can at most be 2 or 4. For illustration,in the following examples, the number of layers is assumed to be at most2. In one example, a layer corresponds to a PUSCH port. PUCCH can betransmitted on a single layer.

If a UE is configured to transmit PUSCH on two layers, and a UE isconfigured to transmit on one layer per beam, and a UE is indicated onebeam for PUSCH, a UE can determine a beam for the transmission of PUCCHaccording to the following instances.

In one instance, the indicated TCI state/spatial relation for PUSCHdetermines the beam used for transmission of PUCCH.

In another instance, a determined TCI state/spatial for PUSCH associatedthe highest RSRP/SINR determines the beam used for transmission ofPUCCH.

In yet another instance, a gNB configures/updates to the UE through RRCsignaling and/or MAC-CE signaling, the PUSCH layer index whose TCIstate/spatial relation is followed for PUCCH transmission.

In yet another instance, a UE selects a TCI state/spatial relation fortransmission of PUCCH out of the two TCI states/spatial relation usedfor PUSCH transmission. A gNB determines the PUCCH TCI state/spatialrelation through blind decoding.

In yet another instance, a UE transmits PUCCH on two beams, for spatialdiversity, following the two TCI states/spatial relations of PUSCH.

In yet another instance, more than one instance of example 4.12 can bespecified in the system operation, the gNB configures/updates to the UEthrough RRC signaling and/or MAC CE signaling and/or L1 controlsignaling the instance to use for the transmission PUCCH.

In yet another instance, more than one instance of example 4.11 andexample 4.12 can be specified in the system operation, the gNBconfigures/updates to the UE through RRC signaling and/or MAC CEsignaling and/or L1 control signaling the instance to use for thetransmission of PUCCH.

In one embodiment, a beam indication in a multi-beam-channel withmultiple component carriers is provided.

A common/joint beam indication can be used to signal/indicate TX beam inmultiple component carriers. The component carriers can have differentnumber of layers for the data channels and/or different number of TXbeams. The following examples can apply to DL and/or UL data channelsand/or control channels. The following examples illustrate the case oftwo component carriers/cells; however, the two component carriers/cellscan be extended to multiple component carriers/cells. In the followingexamples, carrier A is a first component carrier/cell and carrier B is asecond component carrier/cell.

In one example 5.1, a gNB or UE transmits a first channel on multiple TXbeams in carrier A, and transmits a second channel on a single TX beamon carrier B. In one option, the index of the TCI state or spatialrelation of the TX beam of the second channel on carrier B is based on afixed/specified mapping to TCI states or spatial relation of the firstchannel on carrier A, such as for example, the TCI state of the firstlayer/group of layers/codeword/antenna port of the first channel oncarrier A. Alternatively, the index of the TCI state can be based on arule of the TCI states of the layers/groups of layers/codewords/antennaports of the first channel on carrier A, for the example the rule can bethe smallest TCI state index. Alternatively, the index of the TCI stateor spatial relation of the TX beam of the second channel on carrier B isconfigured to be one of the TCI states or spatial relation of thelayers/groups of layers/codewords/antenna ports of the first channel oncarrier A, wherein the configuration can be through RRC, and/or MAC CE,and/or L1 control signaling.

In another example 5.2, a gNB or UE transmits a first channel onmultiple TX beams on carrier A and transmits a second channel on carrierB on all beams of carrier A. In one option, the TCI state or spatialrelation of a TX Beam of the second channel carrier B is based on afixed/specified mapping between the layers/groups oflayers/codewords/antenna ports of the channel on carrier B and thelayers/groups of layers/codewords/antenna ports of carrier A. Forexample, if a channel on carrier B is transmitted on 2 layers and achannel on carrier A is transmitted on 4 layers, and 2 beams areconfigured then on carrier A, layers 0 and 1 are assigned to a firstbeam and layers 2 and 3 are assigned to a second beam while on carrierB, layer 0 is assigned to a first beam and layer 1 is assigned to asecond beam. This is illustrated by way of example in TABLE 4.

TABLE 4 Assignment of TCI states to a channel per carrier fortransmission with different layers per carrier when a number of TCIstates is not larger than a number of layers on any carrier. Beam (basedon TCI or spatial relation) Carrier A Layer Carrier B Layer TCI State 0Carrier A Layer 0 Carrier B Layer 0 Carrier A Layer 1 TCI State 1Carrier A Layer 2 Carrier B Layer 1 Carrier A Layer 3

Alternatively, the TCI state or spatial relation of carrier B TX beam isbased on a configuration that maps the layers/groups oflayers/codewords/antenna ports of carrier B and the layers/groups oflayers/codewords/antenna ports of carrier A, wherein the configurationcan be through RRC, and/or MAC CE, and/or L1 control signaling.

In another example 5.3, a gNB or a UE transmits a first channel onmultiple TX beams on carrier A and transmits a second channel on carrierB on a subset of the beams of carrier A. In one option, the TCI state orspatial relation of a TX Beam on carrier B is based on a fixed mappingbetween the layers/groups of layers/codewords/antenna ports of carrier Band a subset of the layers/groups of layers/codewords/antenna ports ofcarrier A. For example, if a channel on carrier B is transmitted on 2layers and a channel on carrier A is transmitted on 4 layers, and with 4beams configured, carrier A layer 0 and carrier B layer 0 are assignedto a first beam, and carrier A layer 1 and carrier B layer 1 areassigned to a second beam. The remaining two carrier A layers areassigned respectively to a third and fourth beam. This is illustrated byway of example in TABLE 5.

TABLE 5 Assignment of TCI states to a channel per carrier fortransmission with different layers per carrier when a number of TCIstates is larger than a number of layers on a carrier. Beam (based onTCI or spatial relation) Carrier A Layer Carrier B Layer TCI State 0Carrier A Layer 0 Carrier B Layer 0 TCI State 1 Carrier A Layer 1Carrier B Layer 1 TCI State 2 Carrier A Layer 2 TCI State 3 Carrier ALayer 3

Alternatively, the TCI state or spatial relation of a TX beam on carrierB is based on a configuration that maps the layers/groups oflayers/codewords/antenna ports of carrier B and a subset of thelayers/groups of layers/codewords/antenna ports of carrier A, whereinthe configuration can be through RRC, and/or MAC CE, and/or L1 controlsignaling.

In another example 5.4, a gNB or UE transmits a first channel on one ormultiple TX beams on carrier A and transmits a second channel on carrierB on a superset of the beams of carrier A. In one option, the TCI stateor spatial relation of a TX beam on carrier B is based on a fixedmapping between a subset of the layers/groups oflayers/codewords/antenna ports of carrier B and the layers/groups oflayers/codewords/antenna ports of carrier A. Additional layers/groups oflayers/codewords/antenna ports of carrier B not in the subset areconfigured a TCI state or spatial relation. For example, if a firstchannel on carrier A is transmitted on 4 layers and a second channel oncarrier B is transmitted on 4 layers, and 2 beams are configured oncarrier A then, carrier A layer 0 and 1 and carrier B layer 0 areassigned to a first beam, and carrier A layer 2 and 3 and carrier Blayer 1 are assigned to a second beam. The remaining two carrier Blayers are configured and assigned respectively to a third and fourthbeams. This is illustrated by way of example in TABLE 6.

TABLE 6 Assignment of TCI states to a channel per carrier fortransmission with different number of layers per TCI state per carrier.Beam (based on TCI or spatial relation) Carrier A Layer Carrier B LayerTCI State 0 Carrier A Layer 0 Carrier B Layer 0 and Layer 1 TCI State 1Carrier A Layer 2 Carrier B Layer 1 and Layer 3 TCI State 2 Carrier BLayer 2 TCI State 3 Carrier B Layer 3

Alternatively, the TCI state or spatial relation of a TX Beam on carrierB is based on a configuration that maps a subset of the UL layers/groupsof layers/codewords/antenna ports of carrier B and the layers/groups oflayers/codewords/antenna ports of carrier A. Additional carrier Blayers/groups of layers/codewords/antenna ports not in the subset areconfigured a TCI state or spatial relation wherein the configurationscan be through RRC, and/or MAC CE, and/or L1 control signaling.

In another example 5.5, a gNB or UE transmits a first channel on one ormultiple TX beams on carrier A and transmits a second channel on one ormultiple TX beams on carrier B, where a first subset “A” of TX beams areonly configured for carrier A. A second subset “B” of TX beams are onlyconfigured for carrier B. A third subset “C” of TX beam are jointlyconfigured for carriers A and B. The number of elements in any of thesubsets “A,” “B,” and “C”, can be zero, one, or more than one.

For the above embodiments, a TX beam can correspond to a reference orsource RS resource, such as CSI-RS resource, SRS resource, SSB resource,or DMRS resource. Correspondence implies a QCL relationship. Thereference RS resource therein can include or be derived from a resourceindex.

In another example 5.6, a UE can be configured to transmit/receive onmultiple layers in a first carrier and can be configured totransmit/receive on one layer in a second carrier. In one example, thenumber of layers can at most be 2 or 4. For illustration, in thefollowing examples, the number of layers is assumed to be at most 2. Inone example, a layer corresponds to a PDSCH port or a PUSCH port.

If a UE is configured to transmit/receive on two layers on a firstcarrier, and a UE is configured to transmit/receive on one layer perbeam, and a UE is indicated one beam for transmission/reception for afirst carrier, a UE can determine a beam for transmission/reception fora second carrier according to the following instances.

In one instance, the indicated TCI state/spatial relation fortransmission/reception on a first carrier determines the beam used fortransmission/reception on a second carrier.

In another instance, a determined TCI state/spatial relation fortransmission/reception on a first carrier associated the highestL1-RSRP/L1-SINR determines the beam used for transmission/reception on asecond carrier.

In yet another instance, a gNB configures/updates to the UE through RRCsignaling and/or MAC-CE signaling, the first carrier layer index whoseTCI state/spatial relation is followed for the second carrier.

In yet another instance, a UE performs blind decoding to determine a TCIstate for reception on a second carrier out of the two TCIstates/spatial relations used for transmission/reception on a firstcarrier.

In yet another instance, a UE selects a TCI state/spatial relation fortransmission on a second carrier out of the two TCI states/spatialrelations used for transmission/reception on a first carrier. A gNBdetermines the TCI state/spatial relation of a second carrier throughblind decoding.

In yet another instance, a UE transmits/receives on second carrier ontwo beams, for spatial diversity, following the two TCI states/relationsfor transmission/reception on a first carrier.

In yet another instance, more than one instance can be specified in thesystem operation, the gNB configures/updates to the UE through RRCsignaling and/or MAC CE signaling and/or L1 control signaling theinstance to use for the transmission/reception on a second carrier.

For illustrative purposes the steps of this algorithm are describedserially, however, some of these steps may be performed in parallel toeach other. The above operation diagrams illustrate example methods thatcan be implemented in accordance with the principles of the presentdisclosure and various changes could be made to the methods illustratedin the flowcharts herein. For example, while shown as a series of steps,various steps in each figure could overlap, occur in parallel, occur ina different order, or occur multiple times. In another example, stepsmay be omitted or replaced by other steps.

Although the present disclosure has been described with exemplaryembodiments, various changes and modifications may be suggested to oneskilled in the art. It is intended that the present disclosure encompasssuch changes and modifications as fall within the scope of the appendedclaims. None of the description in this application should be read asimplying that any particular element, step, or function is an essentialelement that must be included in the claims scope. The scope of patentedsubject matter is defined by the claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A user equipment (UE) comprising: a transceiverconfigured to receive: configuration information for transmissionconfiguration indication (TCI) states and corresponding TCI stateidentifiers (IDs), and downlink control information (DCI) or a mediaaccess control-control element (MAC-CE) indicating a first TCI state IDamong the TCI state IDs for a first of one or more layers of a downlinkor uplink channels; and a processor operably coupled to the transceiver,the processor configured to determine, based on the indicated first TCIstate ID, a second TCI state ID for a second of the one or more layersof the downlink or uplink channels, wherein the transceiver is furtherconfigured to: receive or transmit the first of the one or more layersof the downlink or uplink channels using a first spatial domain filtercorresponding to the first TCI state ID, and receive or transmit thesecond of the one or more layers of the downlink or uplink channelsusing a second spatial domain filter corresponding to the second TCIstate ID.
 2. The UE of claim 1, wherein the first spatial domain filterand the second spatial domain filter are applied to receiver spatialdomain filters or transmitter spatial domain filters of at least one ofa layer, a group of layers, a codeword, a transmission to or from atransmission reception point (TRP), a transmission to or from a panel,and a reference signal antenna port.
 3. The UE of claim 1, wherein theDCI or the MAC-CE is dynamically signaled.
 4. The UE of claim 1, whereinone or more TCI states of a control channel are at least one of:indicated to the UE based on TCI states corresponding to the one or morelayers of the downlink or uplink channels conveying data to or from theUE, and determined by the UE based on TCI states corresponding to theone or more layers of the downlink or uplink channels conveying data toor from the UE.
 5. The UE of claim 1, wherein a search space isconfigured with one or more control resource sets (CORESETs) and aCORESET of the one or more CORESETs is configured with one or more TCIstates based on TCI states corresponding to the one or more layers ofthe downlink channel conveying data.
 6. The UE of claim 1, wherein a TCIstate of the one or more layers of the uplink channel is at least oneof: indicated to the UE based on TCI states corresponding to the one ormore layers of the downlink channel, and determined by the UE based onTCI states corresponding to the one or more layers of the downlinkchannel.
 7. The UE of claim 1, wherein a TCI state of one or more layersof a channel on a second component carrier is at least one of: indicatedto the UE based on TCI states corresponding to one or more layers of achannel on a first component carrier, and determined by the UE based onTCI states corresponding to one or more layers of a channel on a firstcomponent carrier.
 8. A base station (BS) comprising: a transceiverconfigured to transmit: configuration information for transmissionconfiguration indication (TCI) states and corresponding TCI stateidentifiers (IDs), and downlink control information (DCI) or a mediaaccess control-control element (MAC-CE) indicating a first TCI state IDamong the TCI state IDs for a first of one or more layers of a downlinkor uplink channels; and a processor operably coupled to the transceiver,the processor configured to determine, based on the indicated first TCIstate ID, a second TCI state IDs for a second of the one or more layersof the downlink or uplink channels, wherein the transceiver is furtherconfigured to: transmit or receive the first of the one or more layersof the downlink or uplink channels using a first spatial domain filtercorresponding to the first TCI state ID, and transmit or receive thesecond of the one or more layers of the downlink or uplink channelsusing a second spatial domain filter corresponding to the second TCIstate ID.
 9. The BS of claim 8, wherein the first spatial domain filterand the second spatial domain filter are applied to transmitter spatialdomain filters or receiver spatial domain filters of at least one of alayer, a group of layers, a codeword, a transmission to or from atransmission reception point (TRP), a transmission to or from a panel,and a reference signal antenna port.
 10. The BS of claim 8, wherein theDCI or the MAC-CE is dynamically signaled.
 11. The BS of claim 8,wherein one or more TCI states of a control channel are at least one of:indicated to a user equipment (UE) based on TCI states corresponding tothe one or more layers of the downlink or uplink channels conveying datato or from the UE, and determined by the UE based on TCI statescorresponding to the one or more layers of the downlink or uplinkchannels conveying data to or from the UE.
 12. The BS of claim 8,wherein a search space is configured with one or more control resourcesets (CORESETs) and a CORESET of the one or more CORESETs is configuredwith one or more TCI states based on TCI states corresponding to the oneor more layers of the downlink channel conveying data.
 13. The BS ofclaim 8, wherein a TCI state of the one or more layers of the uplinkchannel is at least one of: indicated to a user equipment (UE) based onTCI states corresponding to the one or more layers of the downlinkchannel, and determined by the UE based on TCI states corresponding tothe one or more layers of the downlink channel.
 14. The BS of claim 8,wherein a TCI state of one or more layers of a channel on a secondcomponent carrier is at least one of: indicated to a user equipment (UE)based on TCI states corresponding to one or more layers of a channel ona first component carrier, and determined by the UE based on TCI statescorresponding to one or more layers of a channel on a first componentcarrier.
 15. A method of a user equipment (UE), the method comprising:receiving configuration information for transmission configurationindication (TCI) states and corresponding TCI state identifiers (IDs);receiving downlink control information (DCI) or a media accesscontrol-control element (MAC-CE) indicating a first TCI state ID amongthe TCI state IDs for a first of one or more layers of a downlink oruplink channels; determining, based on the indicated first TCI state ID,a second TCI state ID for a second of the one or more layers of thedownlink or uplink channels; receiving or transmitting the first of theone or more layers of the downlink or uplink channels using a firstspatial domain filter corresponding to the first TCI state ID; andreceiving or transmitting the second of the one or more layers of thedownlink or uplink channels using a second spatial domain filtercorresponding to the second TCI state ID.
 16. The method of claim 15,wherein the first spatial domain filter and the second spatial domainfilter are applied to receiver spatial domain filters or transmitterspatial domain filters of at least one of a layer, a group of layers, acodeword, a transmission to or from a transmission reception point(TRP), a transmission to or from a panel, and a reference signal antennaport.
 17. The method of claim 15, wherein the DCI or the MAC-CE isdynamically signaled.
 18. The method of claim 15, wherein: one or moreTCI states of a control channel are at least one of: indicated to the UEbased on TCI states corresponding to the one or more layers of thedownlink or uplink channels conveying data to or from the UE, anddetermined by the UE based on TCI states corresponding to the one ormore layers of the downlink or uplink channels conveying data to or fromthe UE, and a search space is configured with one or more controlresource sets (CORESETs) and a CORESET of the one or more CORESETs isconfigured with one or more TCI states based on TCI states correspondingto the one or more layers of the downlink channel conveying data. 19.The method of claim 15, wherein a TCI state of the one or more layers ofthe uplink channel is at least one of: indicated to the UE based on TCIstates corresponding to the one or more layers of the downlink channel,and determined by the UE based on TCI states corresponding to the one ormore layers of the downlink channel.
 20. The method of claim 15, whereina TCI state of one or more layers of a channel on a second componentcarrier is at least one of: indicated to the UE based on TCI statescorresponding to one or more layers of a channel on a first componentcarrier, and determined by the UE based on TCI states corresponding toone or more layers of a channel on a first component carrier.